I was recently invited to Oxford to a theatre play… 'A surprise ! You’ll see' was all I was told when I enquired. I therefore boarded the « Oxford tube » - a coach – and off I went.
London-Oxford is very well connected, either by train or coach; with coaches leaving every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day, it makes a day trip back and forth very easy, comfortable, without too much organisation or planning in advance. Oxford has almost become a London suburb !
Once in Oxford and after wandering in the old streets, I was taken to the beautiful gardens of Wadham College*, one of Oxford’s largest colleges, famous for its gardens, both aesthetic and eclectic, notable for their collection of trees and curiosities from the past - mainly sculptures.
I then found out that the theatre play, Shakespeare's 'As you like it', was an outdoor performance. Of course my first reaction was to scrutinise the sky in search of these tiny, lovely clouds which always turn themselves into black and threatening ones !
This outdoor production was from the Oxford Shakespeare Company**, which has been performing in the breathtaking setting of Wadham College Gardens for 12 years. A second source of amazement was that no stage could be seen: the whole garden was the stage!
Like all spectators, we sat down in a perfectly cut lawn and first sipped what is undoubtedly the most popular cocktail for summer garden parties in England : Pimm’s – what else ? The actors suddenly appeared from every corner and the magic started ! The public enjoyed the first act in a most relaxed way : sitting or even lying in the grass. After the interval which coincided with a magnificent sunset, we were invited to stand and move to another part of the garden where chairs had been placed for the spectators. We stayed there until the end of the play when night replaced dusk and tiny garden lamps were lit.
This play was indeed a great choice for a summer evening in Oxford : full of characters - portrayed with an amazing talent by the very few actors - plots, witty dialogue, romantic action, tremendous enthusiasm and exuberance, songs and music and... a happy ending! We all sang, clapped, laughed, vibrated with the performers! We could have stayed all night in these beautiful, timeless surroundings… A true English mid-summer night’s dream for expats eager to understand more about English culture and heritage !
*Wadham college: www.wadham.ox.ac.uk
**Oxford Shakespeare Company: www.oxfordshakespearecompany.co.uk
Written by Florence Tilkens. Florence is Social Media and Marketing Manager at FOCUS.
For more information please visit www.focus-info.org
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