myguideBritain Blog

All The World’s a Stage

November 2nd, 2007

Yesterday Harry Potter, today Shakespeare. Both great friends of the British tourism industry!

My niece is a professional actress currently touring Britain with the Red Shift Theatre company performing Shakespeare’s “Much Ado about Nothing”. I went to see her on stage last night as the tour ventured into South Wales. Needles to say she was brilliant as usual. However this was no ordinary performance - it was set against the backdrop of war torn Sarajevo in the 1990’s. And it worked. It just shows why Shakespeare is so popular. Great stories that have the right mix of love, jealousy, rivalry and revenge with a good quantity of comedy. I’m sure we all identify with different things in his works.

To see Shakespeare in all his glory then for me the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford upon Avon was the place to go. I say “was” as the theatre is currently undergoing a $220million transformation, ready in 2010 to make it the foremost Shakespeare theatre anywhere. The plans look impressive. http://www.rsc.org.uk

The show goes on though, at a new “temporary” home for the group at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford upon Avon.

Summer season 2008 looks to be a good one with Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew, Merchant of Venice, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Love’s Labour’s Lost all being performed.

Keith Roberts

Entry Filed under: England, Wales