ORA’s Summer Shakespeare Plans Are In!
ORA’s Summer Shakespeare has been confirmed! Students this year will get to see vibrant outdoor performances of As You Like It and Macbeth.
As You Like It
For sessions 1 and 2, taking place in Wadham College; for all students aged 13-18
Written in 1599 or 1600, and probably first performed around 1603, the comedy As You Like It has long been a favourite among audiences of Shakespeare. It tells the story of Rosalind, who flees her uncle’s court and hides in the Forest of Arden, dressed as a man – which leads to typically Shakespearean humour over a traditionally male actor playing a woman dressed as a man. The bold and imaginative Rosalind is one of Shakespeare’s best female characters.
The play also features the ‘All the world’s a stage’ monologue, one of Shakespeare’s most famous speeches. As You Like It is a lively and accessible comedy that makes a great introduction to Shakespeare and isn’t a million miles away from a modern romantic comedy either.
The performance will be put on by the Oxford Shakespeare Company. Their performances, designed for the outdoors, interact fully with the environment. Each production also has individually devised live music, and the energetic cast keep the audience in stitches.
Macbeth
For session 3, taking place in Lady Margaret Hall; for all students aged 13-18
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s best-known tragedies. Set in the 11th century and written in 1606 to please the new, Scottish monarch King James I, it focuses on extreme ambition in the form of Macbeth, goaded on by his amoral wife and a sinister coven of witches. The play is famously said to be cursed; many actors will not refer to it by name inside a theatre, calling it ‘The Scottish Play’ instead.
Macbeth is considered one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most emotionally powerful plays. Those unfamiliar with its plot are few and far between but any fresh performance is always a joy.
The performance will be put on by Creation Theatre, who have over the last 18 years performed for half a million audience members, bringing Shakespeare to life for everyone.
There’s still time to sign up for the summer! Browse our courses now ➙
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