The Getaway – Day 2 – MacBeth With Bikers

Just because all big live productions in Toronto theatres had finished their runs doesn’t mean one can’t see a great show on a trip to Ontario. Two hours west of Toronto is the small but lovely city of Stratford, home of The Stratford Festival.

 

Here is the description of the festival from their website:

Located in Stratford, Ontario Canada, we are North America’s largest classical repertory theatre company, Each season, we present a dozen or more productions in four distinctive venues. We produce classics, contemporary dramas and musicals, with special emphasis on the plays of Shakespeare. 

For more information and this year’s lineup check out their website, http://www.stratfordfestival.ca.

Actors like  Alec Guinness, Irene Worth, Maggie Smith, Lorne Greene, Colm Feore, William Shatner, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Walken, Ralph Fiennes, Hume Cronyn, Peter Ustinov, and many more have graced the stages with their talent.

Getting to Stratford is easy. The festival has a bus that leaves Toronto at 10:AM then departs Stratford at 5:PM for the return trip. But you don’t have to return the same day. You could spend the evening and the next day watching more productions or exploring the area. I think if I ever get to go back, this is how I will do it.

It was pouring rain on the Thursday morning we met up at the InterContinental Hotel on the corner of Front and Simcoe Streets in downtown Toronto. We shook off our umbrellas, while JT shook off his rain jacket because he had biked to the pickup location. After boarding the bus, we settled in and let someone else worry about the traffic.

We arrived in Stratford in time to grab a bite to eat at a small pizza bistro, then we decided to explore a little. I had done some work in Stratford a long time ago (before JT was born) but had commuted from north of Toronto every day so didn’t get to see much of the city and the Avon river, both named for their English counterparts. I was hoping to this time round, but we really didn’t have much time to explore because the theatre doors opened at 1:30 for the show to begin at 2:00.

Here is a little taste of the area: 

What can I say about MacBeth in a biker gang setting except that it was amazing and awe inspiring, and I will never, ever forget it. The play opens with a small outboard motorboat putting it’s way to center stage. Onboard are three people, one with a cloth bag over his head. The engine is turned off and a cinderblock brick is tied to the legs of the obvious victim and he is thrown overboard. The boat engine is turned back on and the boat makes it’s way off stage. Next, seconds later, it is if the entire stage is underwater, and from the top we see the cinderblock brick begin to sink, dragging the hooded body with it. We watch in awe, with our jaws dropped, as it sinks all the way down and disappears. And that was just the beginning.

From the acting, to the stage sets, to the special effects and the rest of the magic of live theatre, this is a production that defines professionalism. What a high bar they have set. I think Shakespeare would have loved it. I scooped the photos below from a Stratford Festival Facebook post, but they are just teasers. You need to see the performance to appreciate the best aspects of it.  

Afterwards we boarded the bus for the return trip to Toronto; and for the entire time, I revisited this wonderful production in my head. A week later and I am still revisiting.

Thank you for reading.  

Photos: Jenn Stone except where indicated. 

Recent posts:

• The Two Mr. C’s Of Christmas
• Sleighbells in the Sun
• Some Charlie Brown Jazz
• Lows And Highs
• Bucket List