Shakespeare in the Gardens
Trinity College Gardens
Trinity College GardensThis summer, one of the unique Cambridge experiences we've taken advantage of is the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival. For eight weeks in July and August, Monday-Saturday one can see The Bard's plays performed by professional actors in some of the loveliest college gardens. "Taming of the Shrew" (St John's College), "Much Ado About Nothing" (King's College), "Romeo and Juliet" (Robinson College), and "Hamlet" (Girton College) were presented for the first four weeks, and we managed to see all but "Hamlet." The comedies were without a doubt our favorite—"Taming of the Shrew" was the best of the lot, but our favorite actor appeared as Benedick in "Much Ado."
Beginning of "Much Ado About Nothing"—Signor Leonato, Beatrice and Hero
Beginning of "Much Ado About Nothing"—Signor Leonato, Beatrice and Hero
Curtain call for "A Midsummer's Night Dream"We still have three more plays to see:"The Tempest" (Downing College), "Macbeth" (Girton College), and "Twelfth Night" (Robinson College). Since "Romeo and Juliet" was our least favorite, I'm wondering if the Cambridge summer nights lend themselves as a better backdrop for a comedy than to a tragedy.
M* and me before "Much Ado"
Our friend Francis, who has accompanied us to all of the shows, noted that he would have liked and appreciated Shakespeare much better if he had seen it in performances such as these. I completely agree. As a teenager and even in college, I don't remember being taught that these plays were often performed for and had to appeal to the common man and that Shakespeare was a businessman. Then, even the comedies that I saw performed seemed to be imbued with the weight of "this is a Shakespeare play." Those young folks who get to see the plays at the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival are quite lucky.
M* and me before "Much Ado"Our friend Francis, who has accompanied us to all of the shows, noted that he would have liked and appreciated Shakespeare much better if he had seen it in performances such as these. I completely agree. As a teenager and even in college, I don't remember being taught that these plays were often performed for and had to appeal to the common man and that Shakespeare was a businessman. Then, even the comedies that I saw performed seemed to be imbued with the weight of "this is a Shakespeare play." Those young folks who get to see the plays at the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival are quite lucky.
M*, Monique and Francis at "A Midsummer's Night Dream"
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