I believe I have already bemoaned that the Driftwood Bard on the Beach tour has finally come to an end. That was consistently my favourite outdoor Shakespeare, and almost every year they put in an appearance at Withrow Park, which is very close to me.
Shakespeare in the Ruff also performs in Withrow Park. I run very hot or cold on them, depending on their overall concept, as they never do straight-up Shakespeare. They are usually trying to decolonize Shakespeare. I'm generally ok with their adaptations and reworkings as long as they are clear that is what they are doing. They weren't clear about this for The Winter's Tale, but fortunately I was tipped off and didn't go. I thought their Portia's Julius Caesar was ok, though not amazing. There was a very pomo version of Richard III in 2023 that was also ok. Up until now, I think my favourite production was Midsummer's Night's Dream that was pretty much completely "normal." However, I would say that their adaptation of Timon of Athens - Tiff'ny of Athens is quite good. It deliberately sets the play in an indeterminate time between the past and present and even future. The overall message of the play, which could be boiled down to the song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," comes through very clearly and there are quite a few stretches drawing directly on the original text. I'm fairly sure they add on a more ambiguous, even hopeful, ending, though I will need to confirm. Again, because it was clear this was not straight-up Shakespeare I have no issue with altering and updating the text, and I thought it was very good. (While I still wish I had managed to make the full play at the Theatre Centre last year, this was a reasonable substitute.) This production plays through this weekend, so go soon if you are at all interested. It is basically pay-what-you-can for all performances, and you can pay a bit more to rent a chair, which is generally a good idea. Unfortunately, their show will likely be rained out on Thurs., but fingers crossed that they can go forward. The rest of the run should be ok, weather-wise. Glenn Sumi also liked the play a lot, giving it 4 stars. The full review is behind a sort of paywall, but you can read the intro here.
Glenn thought Romeo and Juliet in High Park was worth seeing, but not as good as Tiff'ny, (giving it a three star review) and I concur. I thought Diego Matamoros was very good as Friar Lawrence, and Juliet's father was strong and Juliet was good. I thought Romeo was not strong enough, and I didn't think the chemistry between them was palpable (unlike the Star reviewer). And Tybalt was a one-note boor.
Sadly I didn't have my camera, as the set is fairly impressive. I'll have to settle for published photos.
My seat was actually pretty good, given that I got there with only 15 minutes to spare, but I was stage left, more like this view.
Anyway, it was worth seeing, but Tiff'ny of Athens is the much more interesting play.
I really am running quite late now, but I wanted to mention that, even though I go quite rarely to the Fox, I will be going back in a couple of weeks to see Tati's Playtime. It has grown on me to become one of my top films, and it is always better to try to see it on the big screen. I plan on going on the Sunday (and will just have to hope I can find a seat with an unobstructed view!).
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