Thursday 24 January 2013

Day 25 - A day with Miss Potter.

Friday 25th January

I am hopefully off on the first ferry and not back until later tomorrow so posting early today. Glasgow beckons once more for a dose of culture and a wee bit of shopping. The culture comes in two forms; exhibition and opera. Pure Joy! Having said that the winds are up so I may not even get off the island.

My gorgeous daughter bought me tickets to see Midsummer nights dream at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow. I have directed the play once and choreographed it three times so it is always a joy to see what others can do with it. It is, by far, my favourite Shakespeare play. For me it is what Shakespeare ought to be about. Magica, deception and love. I will be soaking up every minute of it. In my time in the US I worked on the rock musical version which, I know, sounds awful but wasn’t thanks to an incredibly talented director. The music score was true genius and the whole production shone very brightly indeed. I love a production that takes risks and I kind of need that because my previous job as a performing arts lecturer means I have seen a lot of theatre. I don’t read reviews before I go to the theatre as I am not interested in anyone else’s view. For me, theatre is a personal experience and that is all that matters in the end.

My second cultural experience fills me with equal joy. I am a life-time fan of Beatrix Potter and there is an exhibition of previously unseen drawings at the Scotland Street School Museum in Glasgow. Included in this exhibition is the work of Emma Thompson who was commissioned to write a new story about Peter Rabbit. Her book The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit is unbelievably good as the story draws on the techniques used by Potter herself. It is a clever tale and well worth a read. I am less impressed by the graphics though so I will be interested to see how those decisions were made. I am thrilled to have asked to write a review of this exhibition so I will say no more at this time.

The boys have an extra day off school so it is a win win situation. Glasgow is so accessible and I have come to love the city in recent years. It is a city with a creative soul and I am very drawn to it. I am a member of the Mitchell library and the Glasgow Women’s library and both places are my kind of heaven. Arran punches way above its weight culturally with a full year of wonderful events but for me Glasgow has the real cultural pull. I adore the Gallery of Modern Art and could lose myself for an entire day in there.

The ferry takes 55 minutes and the train 50 minutes and then you are right in the centre of Glasgow. It is not always quite as simple as that because if we have high winds the boat may be delayed or even cancelled. Yes, it is quite possible to get stranded on the mainland. In theory a trip for a day is perfectly possible but a browse through late rooms enables an over night stay. Perfect. I will, of course, be letting you all know what I made of my cultural experiences in this blog over the next few days. Have a fabulous Friday. Picture is of our gorgeous Molly, thanks so much for the tickets. xx


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