If you want to brush up on your Shakespeare, there’s no better place to do it than the outdoors.
This was apparent last Wednesday, as 110 Bard buffs gathered on the grounds of Camosun College’s Lansdowne Campus to watch Romeo & Juliet.
“There’s something about these 400-year-old texts that resonates so strongly with us, especially in a natural setting,” said Karen Lee Pickett, producing artistic director of the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival.
“It’s compelling, and it brings people back year after year. For many, it’s an important summer ritual, like going to the lake or their annual family camping trip.”
Andrea Pite was first in line this bright and breezy summer evening at the outdoor theatre where she saw this season’s other show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the night before.
“It was the fifth time I’ve seen the play, and it was the best rendition I’ve seen,” said the playgoer whose niece is renowned choreographer and dancer Crystal Pite.
“I like to support community theatre,” said Pite, who remembers seeing productions in the festival celebrating its 25th anniversary this year when they were staged in a red-and-white striped tent in the Inner Harbour.
While its mission remains the same — to present top-drawer productions of Shakespeare classics al fresco — things have changed since Theatre Inconnu launched the festival in its 50-seat studio theatre in Market Square. After Island Repertory Company got on board, it was presented at Ship Point before relocating to St. Anne’s Academy, then Centennial Square when the Victoria Shakespeare Society was founded.
Pickett, who produced theatre in the U.S. and Europe before moving here from New York in 2003, says she wasn’t surprised to learn there was an outcry when the festival’s future was once in jeopardy.
“There’s so much fanaticism about Shakespeare,” said Pickett, who attended the Shakespeare Theatre Association’s gathering of international festival representatives in San Francisco last year.
“There are such celebrations being planned for 2016 [the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death], the legacy year.”
New developments include folding chairs and blankets being provided, and Dine In Victoria’s participation. Patrons can pre-order a picnic dinner from Sizzling Tandoor, John’s Place, Azuma Sushi, Pagliacci’s, Tibetan Kitchen and Olive Grove that staff will deliver on site.
Coffee, the festival’s To Tea Or Not to Tea herbal tea blend, Denman Island Chocolates and other treats were also available at an indoor concession stand operated by volunteer Mariaye Vickery, with jazz music by her grandfather, Victoria pianist Tom Vickery, playing in the background.
There’s an anything-can-happen vibe at these events, which adds to the uniqueness. When the wind picked up before showtime Wednesday, for instance, the box-office tent became airborne.
“It’s not the first time a tent has blown away,” said stage manager Rebecca Marchand, who has contingency plans in case of inclement weather and said she was grateful they haven’t yet had to deal with rain.
“The performers’ safety is my No. 1 priority. If there’s a light drizzle, we’ll go ahead if it’s deemed safe. We live on the West Coast, so we have to be prepared for the elements.”
She said the company’s seasoned performers occasionally might have to “boost the volume,” adding they’re used to rolling with the punches or continuing despite distractions.
A classic example occurred during a rehearsal when a hawk circled above before “dive-bombing rodents in the grass now and again” and deer sometimes wander by, stopping to stare before nibbling the foliage.
“It just reiterates that we are out of doors and peforming the way that Shakespeare intended his plays to be performed.”
