Stratford-upon-Avon & the RSC

The last week has been particularly busy by my standards, which included two days in Stratford-upon-Avon. As a theatre lover it has been an ambition of mine to see something at the RSC and after a bit of nagging I got there.

The show currently on at the RSC is ‘Othello’, staring Hugh Quarshie as the title role and Lucian Msamati as ‘Iago’. My only knowledge of the play came from a comic book version that I studied in Year 7 (most of which I had forgotten). I went with an expectation of seeing a very high quality performance and I was not disappointed! As the show was reaching the end of its run, the cast had clearly relaxed into their roles giving very natural performances, with wonderful dynamics between them; particularly Iago and Othello. Not only was the acting superb but I was fascinated by the staging (stage management head on), as the production used simple arches to suggest different churches and locations, and used four metal panels which could be raised to different levels or lowered to reveal water, creating a very effecting canal for the opening. I left the show having not noticed the passing of nearly three hours, so I think it is safe to say I was thoroughly enthralled by the production, and definitely hope to see more at the RSC.

My visit to the RSC satisfied not only the theatre lover in me, but also the Doctor Who fan, as three members of the case had been in Doctor Who. Thus, following the end of the show I loitered near the stage door and was delighted to catch Hugh and Lucian for an autograph and photo. Both were very nice and stopped for a brief chat. However there was no sign of the third actor, Ayesha Dharker.

The next day myself and my parents did the tourist aspect of the town, visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace, school and grave (as well as eating a lot of cake!). Having never been there before I was surprised how small it was and that it was able to retain its local feel, despite the tourism. Before we left we revisited the RSC gift shop for the necessary souvenirs and bumped into Ayesha Dharker by chance, so I was very happy.


All in all I had a great time in Stratford-upon-Avon and hope to go back some day, especially to the RSC!