Tag: theatre

An Almost-Perfect Family Day Trip

In an attempt to get together with my 2 adult children and their spouses, I proposed a trip to Stratford to see a play. It turned out that 2 of them hadn’t been to Stratford since they had gone on English class field trips about 30 years ago, and one, who grew up in the Philippines, had never been. It was time to visit.

We debated about the play we would see and, nobody else having a clear preference, I stepped in and suggested The Importance Of Being Ernest, showing at the Avon Theatre. I clearly remembered seeing it as a teen ager and laughing uproariously at the hijinx of the husband in the play who dabbled in trans-dressing. This would be a good choice for everyone! Or so I thought.

We met for lunch at a pub across from the theatre and had a great meal of pub sandwiches, fries and drinks. Then, having nothing much to do for the next half hour, we went next door and had gelato. This was perfect for us, because we had all travelled to Italy 4 years ago and had spent the entire trip searching for perfect gelato. We found it several times. And there it was again in Stratford!

After our treat, we made our way to the theatre and found our seats. The leg room was a bit tight but we snuggled in. As the show began I wondered which character was the cross-dresser. There didn’t seem to be any likely candidate. Furthermore they were all doing a lot of talking and not much moving around. We, on the other hand, were all getting a little stiff in our tiny seats. Two of us were nodding off as well.

Finally intermission came and we unfolded ourselves and went to the lounge. We discussed the play and everyone asked about the cross-dressing. Then someone said maybe I had confused the play with another one? Maybe a Shakespeare comedy? Maybe La Cage Aux Folles? Maybe Mrs. Warren’s Profession? Or Maybe the cross-dressing would come in Act Two! ( Obviously that was my suggestion).

Costumes on display in the lounge

When we went back inside for Act Two we spread out into seats we knew were unoccupied. This way we would be comfortable at least while dozing off. The action did speed up, with several funny moments where social mores of the 19th century showed off their hypocricy to an audience of the 21st century. The actors were quite brilliant and deserved the standing ovation they received. But there were no wardrobe highlights.

Before leaving Stratford, we took a side trip along the Avon River and past the iconic Festival Theatre. We all agreed that the day had been worthwhile. But the drive home – well that was another story.

The traffic jam started around Guelph, over an hour from Toronto. As we inched along we began to take notice of other drivers. We saw one young muscular man with his arm stretched out the window, showing off, not only his biceps, but also his bling from fingers to elbow. His gold, diamonds and other precious jewels sparkled in the sun. We had plenty of time to study the wealth he displayed.

The next driver who caught our eye had toys glued all across his dashboard and back window. We saw tiny stuffed animals, key chains, evil eyes, charms, plastic widgets, Lego figures, and more. It was a miniature Toys Are Us on Wheels. We were entranced. But could the driver see the road? We weren’t sure.

Suddenly we were distracted from our study by a loud alarm on our cell phones. It sounded like an Amber Alert. But it wasn’t – it was a Tornado warning – in our vicinity! We looked around and, sure enough, there was a large black cloud on our right. There were black clouds behind us too. And the sky ahead didn’t look great either. If we turned right, the sun was out, but we’d be driving through a field. We saw a bridge ahead but it didn’t look too sturdy to hide under.

Meanwhile the cars all around us were probably having the same conversations. Should we stop at the next farmhouse and ask for cover? But what if All the cars stopped at the same place and time? In all our learnings about tornadoes – going to the basement, hiding in a room without windows, getting into the bathtub – we knew nothing about being in a car surrounded by hundreds of other cars out in the country.

So what did we do? We all just drove on! And eventually we made it to a clear blue sky. We were glad to be safe; safe for another fun family day trip.

Sue

Stratford And Shaw

We have 2 world-class theatres performing every summer in southern Ontario. And now they both have their own bus service! The buses operate every morning and afternoon, with time for lunch and a show in between. It’s perfect for us older folks who don’t like the stress of driving on our busy highways.

This year I was able to visit both of them. First up was the Stratford Festival. A friend, Beth, was visiting form New Zealand and wanted to check out this well-known festival. The bus ride there was uneventful and we had a chance to catch up on family gossip, the perfect prologue to the play we were seeing.

After lunch we had a cold and windy walk to the theatre, not at all the opportunity for us to walk along the picturesque Avon River that I had been hoping for. But our seats at the show were good and Beth was suitably impressed with the theatre. We settled in to watch Sense and Sensibility, a play based on the Jane Austen novel of 1811. It tells the story of 2 women, one sensitive and sweet, the other sensible and a feminist. Both are searching for the perfect, and wealthy, match for marriage.

Presenting this universal story is complicated by the Shakespearean thrust stage. But the adaptation is brilliant. Characters called “the gossips” flit around the stage, in and out, upstairs and downstairs, spying and commenting on everything, The 2 sisters whirl around on parlor chairs with wheels, from living room to dining room where they pull napkins and cutlery from their pockets, and pretend to eat. Then they roll back to the living room for more gossip.

Like most good theatre, the play has a satisfying ending, and we happily headed back to the bus. Unfortunately the trip home was not so satisfying. The Gardiner Expressway was reduced to 2 lanes for ongoing construction. In addition, the Honda INDY race track was being erected on Lakeshore Road and all that traffic was diverted to our 2 lanes. This caused a major back-up and our trip home lasted 3 hours instead of 2.

Undaunted by this bad luck, I took the bus two weeks later to Niagara for the Shaw Festival, with Peter and another couple. We chose a restaurant that was close to the theatre and had a patio brimming with flowers: near the entrance, on the railings, and on the tables. The setting was perfect for a summer day and the food was excellent.

The play we saw, Anything Goes, is a musical from the Shaw era,1934, with music from Cole Porter. This story line is also about pairing off. This time the 2 women are: a successful nightclub singer, Reno, and an heiress, Hope. Both are independently wealthy, but Hope has feelings for a stowaway and Reno loves Hope’s fiance. The couples have plenty of space to chase each other around on the set enhanced with stairs and balconies.

After many plot twists, with a gangster posing as a priest, and an interfering older mother, there is a glorious happy ending; the audience on our feet clapping and singing. We sang all the way to the waiting bus, steeling ourselves for the long ride home. Fortunately it was not to be. Despite a couple of slow-downs, we made it home in only 2 hours.

Both theatres, Stratford and Shaw, operate until the late fall, with bus service continuing on most days. You still have time to enjoy these local gems.

Sue