12th Night

After an epically rough week at work we started the weekend on a definite high. Fiona had purchased tickets to go see a Shakespeare play, 12th Night, at Drum Castle. I was looking forward to it for a few reasons:

1. Le pique-nique. Fiona packed a fantastic picnic basket - cheese, meats, a baguette, fruit and profiteroles. A bottle of champagne chilling in a cooler bag. A thermos of hot chocolate for when the sun went down. It was all extremely tasty. I was a little worried about the size of our picnic, but those fears were instantly waylaid when we walked onto the grounds and saw a couple sitting in their fold out chairs eating a full roast chicken dinner, with a bottle of wine to boot.
2. Location, location, location. We've been to Drum Castle a few times, but have never gone inside. Casey really enjoys walking the grounds. I thought it would be a great location for an outdoor Shakespeare play, and I was right. The castle in the background helps set the mood and transport you to the appropriate era. It was also helped by the troupe putting on the production. It was five people playing all the parts, flipping through costumes faster than you could imagine. Men playing women, women playing men. It just gave you the feeling that you were back in the 16th century and a traveling theatre group happened to pull up at your lord's castle.
3. Outdoor theatre is always cool. A little bit of double meaning here, because it was positively frigid tonight. There seemed to be no recognition from Ma Nature that it is, in fact, the middle of July. People were huddled under blankets and wearing toques. The hot chocolate was thoroughly enjoyed. But we, nonetheless, have an affinity for outdoor theatre, and weather played a large role in shaping that as well. Just after we got together we went to see Shakespeare in the Park in Edmonton. It was a hot summer evening and it was a larger stage production of King Lear. As they do on a lot of prairie summer evenings, a large thunderstorm was brewing in the background during Act 1. Somewhere in the middle of Act 2, Lear was on stage raging against his horrible daughters and just as he finished a soliloquy calling down thunder and lightning, a huge crack of thunder split the sky. Not just regular rumbling either, but just a single, earth shattering crack, preceded by a magnificent flash, and followed by a low rumbling that went on for a few minutes more. Everyone, the actor playing Lear included, just went silent for a minute and admired the Universe's epic sense of timing. We didn't get quite the same dramatics this time around - just a light Scottish sprinkle, which the actors later said 'they refused to call rain' - but seeing art outside always adds a little something special.

We did have a great time. The troupe, Illyria, were excellent, with the girl playing Sir Toby and Olivia being our favourite. In fact, I would venture to say that Sir Toby was the perfect tonic for a week where work has just seemed to be conspiring to find a way to break me. Mix in some good nibbles, and a good wife to share your blanket with and call it therapy. Bring on the next week!