CanStage amphitheatre at High Park

Well, I discovered a couple of ways to stop myself from coughing all the way through an outdoor production of Shakespeare — eat and drink. Drink and eat. Repeat. The play was nearly two hours with no intermission, which means I ate more in one sitting than I have all week!

Thanks to Arliin’s advice to get there early to stake out territory and bring along picnic food, I secured a prime location for three of us well in advance: an hour and forty minutes before the performance! This sounds crazy early, but the amphitheatre isn’t very large and I wanted to make sure we weren’t relegated to the far wings. Peter and Lauren arrived before 7:00 and we dined on chicken, samosas, dips, bread sticks, tortilla chips, potato wedges, vegetables — I’m Filipino! There’s no such thing as too much food! — and wine before the performance, but we were still grazing and sipping as we watched. It was the perfect summer evening: not too warm, not chilly, no swarms of mosquitoes, and the play itself was extremely entertaining — a “hip, urban interpretation of Shakespeare’s timeless comedy.”

http://www.canstage.com/

“Delving into the world of paparazzi and celebrity culture, the play is set in downtown Toronto and features a multi-racial cast and Caribbean carnival-influenced costumes and rhythms.”

The last part is something I really enjoyed — I wished I were allowed to take photographs of the colourful costumes. Makes me want to go to Caribana this year.

Technorati tags: Shakespeare, A Midnight Summer’s Dream, High Park, Toronto