Bard on the Beach, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare

What a wonderful mid week lark! I was so glad I bid on Bard on the Beach tickets at the Turning Point Recovery Gala this year.  Laura and I loved the show. The venue is worth the outing.Vanier Park, usually a site of kite flying, is one of Vancouver’s prettiest places.  The very clever set designer left the back panel open at times as a window onto English bay with sailboats passing by.
I remember first going to Bard on the Beach in the 80’s. It was horrible. Great theatre but these god awful folding metal chairs, lousy acoustics and leaky tents. I remember sitting with my feet in a pool of water windy rainy nights at the outdoor theatre. I love Shakespeare.  King Lear is the greatest play of all time. Among other masochists and enthusiasts we attended this incredibly daring audacious event that has just grown and grown since it’s early creative days. .
Now the tents are the best.  I think of Persian nights as these tents are the stuff of Sultans.  The acoustics are great and the seating is almost comfortable.  The acting direction and plays have just got better and better and better.
Much Ado About Nothing directed by John Murphy

was a splendid romp.  Shakespeare modernized.  The language retained, but the storyline moved to a 1959 Italian movie set.  Hilarious props and marvellous slap stick moments. I’ll forever remember the Vespa chase as the audience burst into spontaneous applause.
Well done Bard on the Beach.  I loved Andrew Wheeler as Leonato and Amber Lewis as Beatrice. What a crazy adorable love story with all the twists and treats of the greatest playwright of all time.
Bard on the Beach goes from June to September and I really do hope to see  Merchant of Venice.  Shylock, A Winter’s Tale, and Two Gentlemen of Verona are also being performed. Thank you Christopher Gaze and Claire Sakaki.