Our first full day in Ashland started for me by taking the dogs – all three of them now – down to the dog park. It’s about a mile and a half from the house we’re renting to the dog park, so they were ready to jump in one of those little plastic pools and have a drink. Edie found another dog to chase, and Eli enjoyed chasing a ball. I gave them all some time to frolic in Bear Creek and then we headed back to the house. By the time we were there everybody, including me, was ready to flop down and rest for a bit.
This was a big theater day for us. Ellen, Sherry, and John went to see American Night. This show is done by the Los Angeles agitprop theater group Culture Clash. Since I didn’t see it, I am not completely sure what it was about although there is a review of his on the Culture Clash website. Our group liked it. Mike, Giles, and I went to see Hamlet. This was a very non-traditional production. For example, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern became women. In the picture below, that’s Hamlet interrogating them.
The traveling players Hamlet hires to perform the murder of the king play became a hip hop group. Oddly enough, this was the non-traditional bit I think worked the best both visually and theatrically.
Most reviewers – and the bulk of the audience – were really taken with Dan Donohue’s performance as the Danish prince. I didn’t hate it, but I thought that he reached too far to try to create unusual line readings and there were times that he twitched so much that I wondered if he’d stuck his sword in an electrical socket. But, like I said, that’s the minority opinion here.
After we came home, Ellen and Sherry collaborated on a wonderful eggplant pasta dinner. We then returned to the festival to watch their adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. This was a big disappointment for all of us. There just did not seem to be any chemistry between the principals in the story, and it’s not the kind of story which seems to lend itself very well to the stage anyhow. The costumes, I will admit, were pretty.
Ellen and I left at intermission. John and Sherry said that the second act was a little better than the first, but even they were not that enthusiastic about it.
Tomorrow, off for river rafting.
