Shakespearience

The Shakespearience is no longer in business. The building on Waterside is now part of the RSC.

As the birthplace of the most prolific writer the world has ever known, even with some of his works no doubt pilfered off the milk maid, Stratford no doubt attracts its fair share of Shakespeare fans from around the world.

I'm a fan of theatre full stop, and forgot how truly enjoyable it is to see Shakespeare performed instead of reading it.

Though the main theatre was being refurbished the last time we went, about 9 months ago, we went into the smaller theatre and saw an absolutely superb performance of, believe it or not, Romeo and Juliet.

Booking online with the RSC was very easy, straightforward with the seating plans and payment. We were able to view the intermission menus and book food ahead of time, which would be waiting for us upon the break. What a fantastic service! I heartily recommend you take advantage of this.

The smaller theatre is small enough that any seat in the house would provide a fine vantage point. The seats are comfortable enough, and actually offered my husband enough leg room!

The production of Romeo and Juliet was reinterpreted in 1940s gangster era, with a very Godfather feel. The acting was fine, and I was relieved to see some blind casting.

The food, at the break, was a real treat -- Mediterranean platter offering us truly delectable hoummus, olives and other delightful nibbles.

See? Shakespeare doesn't have to be a painful experience. Unless you're the milkmaid.

What’s there to say about this place. Shakespeare fans will go anyway and will flock from all over the world. Therefore, as a local I’ll try to give a few hints and tips to enhance your enjoyment. The RSC theatre is set in a lovely park and I strongly recommend that you stroll by the canal before any performance to walk off your pre theatre supper. there are loads of restaurants in Sheep Street including a great Fish and Chip shop right by the theatre. The park s being messed about with at the moment -I will reserve judgment until I see the end result.
reat place for a drink after the show is The Black Swan (also knnown as the Dirty Duck). Very crowded but chances are you will see some of the cast and crew

Shakespearience is a hard one to review. Depending on who you are, it's either the worst kind of tourist trap or it's an introduction to the man whose work eveyone has heard of and very few people have actually read. I am one of the former but I went to see this with my parents, who despite being quite well read aren't all that familiar with Shakepeare and his work. They've heard of him, know some of the famous lines from his plays, and may even have read a play or two at school but that's about it. They have certainly never seen a production of any of his plays. And really if you think about it, that's the case with most people. Which is probably why this audio-visual experience with the cringe-worthy pun of a name is actually quite popular. The experience begins with everyone sitting in a room with famous lines from Shakespeare's work projected onto the walls. This was quite interesting even for me because no matter how much Shakespeare you've read, it never fails to surprise you just how many famous quotes are his! This was followed by an brief history of his life and times shot in various Shakepeare-related sites around Stratford upon Avon.

Then you move into the the stage room where Shakespeare (in the form of flashing lights) converses with the actor projected on stage. The 3D projections were actually quite good and as various scenes from his plays were acted on stage by the 3D actors, the host and Will discussed the plays and how the events of his life affected his writing. It ended with a performance by Shakespeare himself. My mum was quite happy with it saying it was the next best thing to actually watching a Shakespeare play. Which I suppose it is. So I would say if you're a tourist, or in a touristy-leave-my-patronising-ways-at-home kind of mood, this isn't a bad thing to go to. It is worth the entry fee though don't go near the shop. It's overpriced tourist tat (I suppose my real self must have reemerged by the time I got there!)