The World’s a Stage but not Outdoors
Could someone explain the attraction of outdoor entertainments to me?
The Royal Opera House and Ballet are broadcasting a series of free productions on public screens in town centres. I haven’t seen that many ballets and operas to be confident that I really understand the art form so welcome the chance to widen my experience. Besides it’s free. So on 30th May I set off to watch Verdi’s Falstaff on the public screen in Manchester’s Exchange Square. I didn’t actually get there as, if you remember, that was the day that the short heat wave ended with a bloody great thunderstorm that sent me scurrying back home to watch Lewis instead.
Environmental factors are one of the reasons I see little appeal in outdoor entertainment. This is England for pity’s sake! If it’s going to rain on the Jubilee Flotilla then you can pretty much guarantee it’ll pour down on any show that is held in the open air. As a precaution you end up dragging along so many safeguards against the elements you look like you’re going for a hike instead of to the theatre.
To be sure of avoiding pneumonia we take stout shoes, waterproof coats, ground sheets and even gloves. Even if we stay dry its impossible to appreciate the show when rain is bouncing off your waterproofed headgear, the actors keep slipping on a rain-slick stage and you’re wondering if the wheels of the car have sunk in the mud.
The idea of staging a show in the outdoors is that the setting enhances the experience. Sometimes this is the case; a definite atmosphere develops as the stage is darkened by the daylight naturally slipping into twilight. Recall one production that was block booked as a reception for a wedding party – the definition of ‘classy’.
Shakespeare’s weaker comedies get an extra lift when the actors are able to interact freely with the audience – even going so far as to pinch the odd bit of picnic. But I question the extent to which these benefits compensate for the physical discomfort that you have to endure outdoors. The sightlines are rotten, your backside gets numb sat on the ground and there is nowhere to pee. There are also distractions from birds, insects and, depending on where the show takes place, other people who might be on –site. I can cope with comedies but honestly wonder how it is possible to appreciate drama under these conditions.
Perhaps outdoor entertainments are one of those things that I just don’t appreciate. I struggle to multi-task and prefer to concentrate on one thing at a time. One of the attractions of outdoor entertainment seems to be that it offers the chance to enjoy more than one experience at the same time. You get to appreciate the environment in which the play takes place and to eat a picnic and drink while it is going on.
The latter, I’m afraid, brings out the class warrior in me. I get terribly self-conscious sat amongst groups of people who are working their way through elaborate feasts when all I have is a pack of homemade sarnies and a bottle of pop from Quality Save. I get tempted to try and sell them a ‘Big Issue’.
No matter how hard I try whenever the date for an open air show draws near I start to panicky review weather forecasts and regret booking for the event in the first place. I hope to get over my misgivings in time for the next production from the Royal Ballet on 16th July. After all, it’s free.
– Dave Cunningham
