There are three very different dramas to choose from at the RSC next month:
SALOME by Oscar Wilde
a poetic masterpiece
2 June – 6 Sept
VICE VERSA by Phil Porter
a side-splitting comedy romp
June – 9 Sept
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Shakespeare’s gory revenge play
23 June – 19 Jan
For two whole days the riverside comes alive with free events and activities plus food, music and fireworks.
Put the dates in your diary – July 1st and 2nd.
What’s on in May?
Highlights next month include three time Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman featuring the songs of Bernstein and Sondheim, The All Star Comedy Stand up tour and tribute acts ‘Absolute Blondie‘, The Jerseys and The Johnny Cash Roadshow.
Call the Box Office on 01789 207100 for tickets.
Saturday 22 April sees Stratford upon Avon celebrating Shakespeare’s 453rd birthday.
Local and invited dignitaries, VIPs and guests will be there as well as characters in period dress, marching bands and local schoolchildren.
The town is flying flags ready for the parade through the town to Holy Trinity Church. It’s a colourful, lively procession – don’t miss it!
The art gallery and park at Compton Verney has a new exhibition ‘Creating the Countryside‘ examining our relationship with the countryside over the centuries from Thomas Gainsborough to today.
Compton Verney – where art meets nature – is the perfect location for exploring our view of the countryside and its influence on contemporary art and society.
The gallery is open Tue – Sun from 11 – 5 and ‘Creating the Countryside’ runs until June 18.
Stratford upon Avon hosts the fifth Festival of Motoring comprising two runs into the countryside and then a mix of up to 300 classic and modern cars parking up in the town where streets will be closed.
The main display is on Wood Street featuring Jaguars from Coventry Transport Museum and The Jaguar Heritage Trust. It should make for a great Bank Holiday weekend in Stratford!
Opening in The Swan Theatre next month, Snow in Midsummer is a contemporary re-imagining of one of the most famous Classical Chinese dramas. This is the first production in the RSC’s Chinese Translations Project, a cultural exchange bringing Chinese classics to a modern western audience.
The play stars Harry Potter actor Katie Leung and runs from Feb 23 – Mar 25
The grand finale of the RSC’s Rome season this summer is a six play adaptation of Robert Harris’s bestselling trilogy of novels about the Roman orator and politician Cicero.
Artistic Director Greg Dorian describes the project as ‘Rome meets The West Wing‘. Harris’s trilogy has been adapted by Mike Poulton who also adapted Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies into two award winning stage plays.
The six one-hour plays performed over two nights will premiere at The Swan Theatre in November. Part I is entitled ‘Conspirator‘ and Part II ‘Dictator‘.
The RSC also announced that the Christmas production for 2017 will be an adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens.
The RSC has three new productions beginning next month, two by Shakespeare plus a new comedy from Richard Bean:
Antony and Cleopatra 11 Mar – 7 Sept
Julius Caesar 3 Mar – 9 Sept
The Hypocrite 31 Mar – 29 Apr
Christmas is coming!
Thursday Nov 24 is the date for your diary if you want to be in Stratford upon Avon for the Christmas Lights switch-on. Events begin at 4.30 and Father Christmas will be there of course.
The same evening sees the first of the Thursday Xmas markets which continue through December on the 1, 8, 15 and 22.
For a family show, why not get tickets for The Tempest at the RSC or Aladdin at Stratford ArtsHouse.
Also in the area, there are Xmas events at Warwick Castle, Kenilworth Castle, Ragley Hall, Compton Verney and Batsford Arboretum. The lovely town of Shipston on Stour hosts its Victorian Evening on Dec 2.
There are plenty of ideas for Christmas shopping too – and restaurants, cafes and pubs when you need to recover!