All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players...

Right, it's late and i've got things to do, and since brevity is the soul of wit, i shall be brief!

Today, other than not get particularly far in getting a job, albeit further than i was before, i left Cheltenham for Stratford to see some more of this years' comedies season - see if it continues in the stunning respect in which it started (See AMSND and The Comedy of Errors reviews (once i've got around to typing them...) but suffice to say they were stunning - AMSND to the point that it is one of the best productions i have ever seen and i think i will ever see!).

Tonight the bill was As You Like It (and NOT All's Well that Ends Well - i get them sooo permanently confused) and the first thing that struck me was that the set was perfectly as i liked it. It was basically one hugely realistic (in size and asthetic) coniferous tree in the middle of the stage. Very simple, but highly effective and really all that was necessary.

The play began with the entire chorus on stage singing, to set the season, the tree glittering with pale blue fairy lights and a snowy scene of winter. From there it made a strong start by introducing Orlando (Jamie Ballard?) and almost immediately he took his top off - good move! I'm not usually one for shamelessly eating up eye-candy, but my god he was good looking - toned, very toned... mmm... (he was also an excellent actor, but that's pretty much taken as read at Stratford). Infact, by the end of the first half, i was pleasantly happy, and enjoying the acting a great deal, but i must confess that while i knew roughly what was going on, i wouldn't have liked to try and explain, and i was completely lost as to what the connections between the various characters. I did, however, decide to bear with it, which did indeed ultimately pay-off.

The second half was somewhat clearer and quite a lot funnier - i could actually follow what was going on; largely, ithink, because the various dukes had disappeared from the story, leaving us with the somewhat less complicated lovers. Though shakespeare did try to complicate them as well by adding phebe and selvius into the equation, for what reason i know not. It has to be said that while this was a brilliant production, and i really did enjoy it, i don't think it can be said to be one of shakespeare's better written plays. The hassle at the beginning with the dukes is confusing and unnecessary, and there are several additional characters, for reasons i cannot deduce, while end of the play seems a little contrived - a very forced happily-ever-after, where there wasn't really much strife or confusion in the first place...

Having said that, it is all forgiven with the epilogue, because that was really quite genius, infact it really remined me of the Edinburgh strett performers who got the audience to clap for any reason at all simply to attract a crowd... hehehe... the cheek - but it was a totally enjoyable evening, even if it was not quite the match for AMSND or tCoE.

Best lines in the play, purely because it's so brilliantly random, and has a post in it...

JAQUES: Why, 'tis good to be sad and say nothing.
ROSALIND: Why then, 'tis good to be a post.

Anyways, after that we headed of home... which would have been a hell of a lot easier if we hadn't completely forgotten which direction the car was parked in... oops... (we did, as you may have guessed, find it eventually... hehehe)

"That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness, and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

The other idea of this evening, or rather, the position of this evening's little outing, was to distract me from the impending doom that is A-Level results... humph. I really really hate this waiting - i really can't stand it!!! Hmm a day and a half left... *eek* And the fact that i can't decide what to do with my life really really isn't helping. The more i go to the theatre - having decided that that is what i wish to do for a career, regardless of what happens in the nearer future - the more i wonder whether i should simply apply to do theatre straight away regardless of what Cambridge say... but at the same time, i could get some really got experience at cambridge, have an amazing time, and get a good degree from one of the best unis in the world... hmm... tough choice (and i don't even know if i have to make it yet - argh!!!) But even if i get rejected, i'm gonna be soooooo stuck - UCL/theatre/UCL/theatre??? Awww..... soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo stuck :o(

"Time travels in divers paces with divers persons. I'll tell you who Time ambles withal, who Time trots withal, who Time gallops withal, and who he stands still withal."

Night xxx