A day in Munich, September 18, 2008

A day in Munich, September 18.
For some people (Magazine Monocle Issue 05 in 2007), Munich is the top liveable city in the world! It has to do with a combination of investment in infrastructure, high-quality housing, low crime, strong media, and liberal politics; the latter may be true for the city, but not for the bundeslender, Bavaria, which is consistently at the right of the political spectrum, although I understand that the leading conservative party (PSU?) may be loosing its traditional 50% grip on the popular vote in the coming election, which may force them into a coalition. Our friends living here (more on them further down) are somewhat sceptical about this appreciation, perhaps too acutely aware of some of the deficiencies of the city (especially when you moved there, having lived in more exotic places such as Singapore!) For our part, I must admit, the city is attractive, starting with its airport - Terminal 2, only 5 years old – which offered a very smooth process coming in, and going out. You are also quickly reminded that Munich is BMW’s headquarters: every TV screen at each of the baggage conveyor carries BMW ads! Learning that secondary cities in Germany i.e. Munich and Dusseldorf – there are direct flights linking both to Toronto – are much better transit places than frantic, huge Frankfurt, including to Berlin. Don’t have much time to “discover” the city, but take an hour to stroll to the old city at the core of Munich (that is another feature of the place: if you are not too far from the center of the 1.6M people Greater Munich, you can walk literally anywhere. Sighting major attractions: Im Tal lively street leading to Marienplatz where both the old Town Hall and the very ornated, Gothic style, New Town Hall, built only at the end of the 19th century, stand. The new Town Hall reminds me of some of the architecture found in Belgium, for one reason or another, the Grand Place in Brussels among others. Then up Residenz Street to reach Maximilian Joseph Platz where some of the major “monuments” can be found – the National Theatre, the Residenz Palace itself, which seems to be under renovation. I understand the Residenz to be the palace which was home of the Bavarian rulers for some 400 years starting in 15th century. Came back down on the other side of this historical and cultural complex that is the Residenz, by Marstall Platz, to find the Cuvilliès Theatre, built in the 18th century and in the view of some people the most delightful Rococo style theatre in the world (I will take their word for it as I don’t have time to visit!) The more intreging part to me is the modern architecture that stands of the left, the Max-Plante Institute among others, which marries well with the old architecture, an interesting melange that many old cities of Europe – Zurich comes to mind – now offer. Meandered along Orlando Street where is the famous beer parlour HofbrauHaus – group of young people having a good time outside, already started on OktoberFest which officially only begins tomorrow – back to the hotel, the conveniently-located Holiday Inn City Centre
Visit offers unique chance for Cynthia to see an old friend from Singapore, Cristina Hon, who moved here with German husband Andreas, some 8 years ago. Always liked Cristina, so full of life; a chance too to meet finally Andreas, delightful, a trained architect whose work has gradually morphed into that of an executive with a locally-based generic medicament manufacturer, with facilities around the world. Sampled some good French fare for dinner at Rue des Halles; wonderful evening reminiscing our time in Singapore and catching up with our respective life. Had lunch with my business hosts, GEMA, not too far from there, at what is known as one of the better Italian restaurants in Munich, Vianiolo – both quite delicious (www.vinaiolo.de) .

Vacances à Tremblant!

Quinze jours sur le lac Gauthier. Quinze jours de repos, toujours en famille, à tour de rôle. Soleil, chaleur, calme, un petit paradis quoi!

Jugeons-en par les photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bourlingue/sets/72157607049484983/

5 plays and a week-end – Stratford, take 3

5 plays and a week-end – Stratford, a third time

Actually 2 of which were short plays. Hughie & Krapp’s Last Tape, 2 one-act plays featuring Brian Dennehy who was made for both roles, one the gambler down on his luck in conversation with the night porter of the crummy hotel he is now condemned to live in, the other, a reminiscent failed writer who vents his frustration and deception by raging at old tapes of his he is listening to, having traded the possibility of love for the one, never attained, of fame. Eugene O’Neill, together with Samuel Beckett – depressingly accomplished performances! The Irish pondering about the meaning of one’s life, or lack of thereof...

Then Hamlet. Supremely played by this young Canadian actor, Ben Carlson, who literally lifts up the whole play. Not an easy play, Hamlet – for the spectator and for the actor. Must be the wordiest play Shakespeare ever wrote - so dense! But also the most compelling; always on the edge, between truth and deception, reality and appearance, sanity and madness, hope and despair, past and future, life and death. Stratford does well with this Hamlet, primarily due to Carlson’s performance (actually he also performed the personage at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre last year I believe for which he got the much coveted best-actor award.) Do not quite understand though this practice of situating the action at another time than the original, as illustrated by the 19th century accoutrement of the actors (same this year, in part in Romeo & Juliet, and in full in All is well...)

For anyone whose mother tongue is not English, Shakespeare is quite a challenge, but I discovered that it is also for those for whom English is their mother tongue! Someone was telling me that Richard Monette, the just retired long-time artistic director of the Festival, and a pure Anglophone in spite of his French name, used to say that for the first 15 minutes of any Shakespeare play, he did not have a clue of what was going on! It was only after relaxing a bit and settling into the play would he start to get a sense of what was said and happening. So no wonder...

Most Shakespeare quotes that are remembered come from Hamlet. This one struck me this time: “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite / To ever be born to set it right!” It does summarize Hamlet, born to avenge his father king, but dies never to succeed him.
Shakespeare quotes I like, always a-propos, whenever the occasion lends itself to it. Like for a toast at my daughter’s marriage:
“He is the half part of a blessed manLeft to be finished by such as she:And she a fair divided excellenceWhose fullness of perfection lies in him!”

Moby Dick
A world premiere. Melville’s novel, adapted by director Morris Panych; not a word spoken (except for some narration), danced (not quite ballet) on Debussy’s Orchestral Works, all within 100 minutes. Silent-movie like. (Would have liked to “hear” the sermon on Jonah... Will always have in mind Orson Welles’ performance in the Hollywood film version...) Some striking effects of light and accessories (the sails of the ship) but on the whole it gets a bit repetitive and tedious (same effects, same gestures, same movements) and in the end a bit tiring. Must be commended though for having taking on the challenge of fitting Melville’s rambling story into this medium.

Caesar and Cleopatra
The story of an old ruler mentoring a much, much younger one, in the vagaries of exercising power. perfect entertainment! A great play about a serious topic but treated with humour, in an English that common people can understand (that is those of us who were not born in the 16th or 17th century!) Awesome set, situated for once, if I have to go by this season, in its true epoch; glorious costumes. And a cast to dream of: this young thing as Cleopatra, and the glory of Canada’s acting, Christopher Plummer, the prodigal son in a way, returning to Stratford after years. A triumph for him – even the critics were emphatic...

Stockholm I

Stockholm – waters city…

In town with André for a series of meetings on strategic issues organised by CISAC, and for a one-on-one with the local society. (Sylvia is accompanying André; I am not that lucky: Cynthia had to stay home - work demands it!)

It will sound obvious to the well-travelled, but it is worth saying: Stockholm is a waters city, a discovery for me. It is in fact built on 14 islands, five of which - the core of the city - I know, that is I walked and lived in for a week. And clean waters, enough to see people fishing in them. This is where the Baltic meets fresh waters: the dividing line is at the lock in the middle of the city, between 2 islands: on the East side is the Baltic; on the West side, and a couple of feet higher, is the lake Riddar. Land of water, islands, and bridges – 57 of them!

When I think of Sweden, the first thing that comes to mind is its politics. The Swedish Model, as we called it in the 60’s and 70’s. High income tax, an advanced public social support system, and high economic development – the social and economic nirvana envied by the rest of the western world! That has changed and I don’t think it is the credo of any society any more. One must admit though that, at least to the eyes of the casual visitor, the results are there: it’s still an enviable society, where people seem to be happy to live in. But it is subjected to the same predicaments of many other western societies, and has lost much of its past appeal. High cost of living, immigration problems, rising crime, economic dislocation, social division. I was reading a review of a recent book, Fishing in Utopia – Sweden and the Future that Disappeared, that goes very much in that direction in its analysis of modern Sweden. A more soothing reading is this local classic, The Summer Book, a novel by the celebrated Tove Jansson...

This is also the land of the Midnight Sun. It’s mid-July and still dusk at 11pm. And light at 2:30am. That dictates the order of your day, with a nap in late afternoon if you are jetlagged, as it is in my case. It happens also to be sunny and 65 degrees.

It’s also a royal city, a monumental city, with palaces and state-built dwellings: the Royal Palace to start with, but also the National Museum, the National Theatre; the National Opera, and so on. Also a very bourgeois city, with rich apartment buildings, splendidly lined up for instance along the Strandvägen quays (we are told that Björn Borg, the tennis champion, has an apartment there, and so has Tiger Woods, on account of his Swedish wife…)

Surprised at the small population of Stockholm: only three quarter of a million, intra muros; add another million or so to take into account the surrounding population. Total for the country is a mere 9M (18 people per square kilometer we are told). They also have 96,000 lakes; that makes a lake for roughly 100 people! A beautiful race, these Swedish people are. Blond, tall, fit. Running on path along the waters. I always thought of the Swedes as a fit and healthy people; an outdoor people, enjoying thoroughly their short but ardent summer and their long winter – there is a saying here that there is no bad weather, only bad clothes!

And the Swedes are also cultured, at least judging by the number of museums: 71 ones in the city! I saw a few; the obvious: the National Museum (http://www.nationalmuseum.se/) – an exhibition entitled “Queer” tracing the influence of homosexuality in painting, particularly in turn-of-the-century Swedish painting; the Nordiska Museum (http://www.nordiskamuseet.se/); the Vasa Museum (http://www.vasamuseet.se/) – a fascinating story and quite an attraction this 17th century ship which capsized (not enough ballast) and sank in the port 20 minutes into its maiden voyage, refloated 333 years after, and reconstituted in its entirety over more than 25 years, now exhibited in full in this built-on-measure museum since 1989. Visited also the less obvious museums such as the Etnografiska (Ethnography) Museum, with a small exhibition of Peking at the outset of the Cultural Revolution in 1966 – Chinese propaganda posters, and the most interesting part, a series of color pictures taken by Solange Brand, a young secretary working at the French Embassy at the time. All that against the sound of revolutionary anthems of the day and speeches of Lin Biao and, yes, Chou En Lai. http://www.etnografiska.se/smvk/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1657&a=12124&l=en_US . There is also the Nobel Museum in the old town, and the Moderna Museet (Museum of Modern Art), recently renovated on Skeppsholmen – a design by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo – which unfortunately I don’t have the time to visit.

Shopping at the largest local department store, NK – think of Bloomingdales! And across the street at very Swedish, sporty Helly Hansen. That’s in the bustling city center neighborhood of Norrmalm. http://www.nk.se/templates/default.aspx?id=7895 ; http://www.hellyhansen.com/sport/

Cruise (http://www.strommakanalbolaget.se/) in the archipelago, where very quickly you are in the country side, in the cottage country – in some cases more like country estates. Right up to the Vaxholm Island. Some 24,000 islands we are told – only 1000 are inhabited – as we float toward the open Baltic Sea. Fascinating again with its chalets in the traditional and Swedish-unique “red Falun” color, scattered along the shores of these islands. You would think that you are in the Muskoka region, or along Georgian Bay, north of Toronto! This is what they call their “urban wilderness” where Stockholmers and others are escaping for a short while in the short summer months.

Stockholm II

Sweden is also design country. Products and architecture. A glance at the tangerine-color Stockholm Municipal Library, designed by celebrated Swedish architect Eric Gunnar Asplund, in the twenties, in what is known as the Nordic Classicism style (before the so-called “aesthetic functionalism” of the 30’s and 40’s took over Sweden). Could not get in but was told the so-called “lending hall” with its huge circular 3-story high bookshelves located in the magnificent cylindrical sphere is just awesome. It is said that the library served as an inspiration to the Finn architect Alvar Aalto in building the Viipuri Library (also referred to as Vyborg Library), which was completed in 1935, another masterpiece of International Modernism, in need apparently of serious repair. http://www.alvaraalto.fi/viipuri/building.htm.There is also the more modern stuff we associate Sweden to, such as the Kulturhuset, the House of Culture, all glass, conceived by Peter Celsing in the 60’s in the modern part of the city, or the Kasnästornet, a 155 meter TV tower, more to the East of the city, and from the top of which you are offered an incomparable view of Stockholm apparently.

Early run Sunday morning along the Djurgärdsbrunnviken: 40 minutes of pure pleasure under a bright but gentle sun at this time of the day, protected by a few passing clouds and in the shadow of the green canopy, along that stretch of blue water, running on soft gravel, up and down gentle hills, a refreshing breeze cooling you off. I’d say one of nicest jogging paths I ever had the pleasure to experience anywhere in the world. Nice start for the day.

I am staying at the Grand Hotel, the oldest and classiest in town going back to 1874 if I recall. It is managed by the Intercontinental Hotel Group nowadays. Very central, right on the water, facing the Royal Palace, the Parliament and a commanding view on the city. My room gives on the water. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/overview/stockholm-thegrand

Other hotels worth staying at I am told: turn-of-the-century Esplanade; J Sealodge Gashaga – outside of town and inspired by a summer house in Newport, USA; and Hotel Hellsten, designed in the old style of typical bourgeois Stockholm flats. Next time…

Plenty of good restaurants in Stockholm:

Lunch at “The Verandah” at the Grand Hotel where I am staying. Elongated, it’s fronting the hotel, glassed-in and overlooking the quays where ferries and sightseeing boats are anchored, the Royal Palace, the Parliament and Gamla Stan, the heart of old Stockholm, sitting across the water – unique view! Quite elegant, it focuses on traditional Swedish food (think of smörgåsbord) and serves as main dining space at the hotel, mainly for breakfast and lunch. (Also at the hotel is the Mathias Dahlgren Restaurant – the Dining Room and the Food Bar – offering a menu which we are told is based on head chef Mathias’ “natural kitchen” philosophy…whatever that is…)

Dinner at Wedholms Fisk, near the hotel. Lightly grilled scallops as entrée, followed by poached salmon in spinach (or basil?)-based cream sauce. Simply prepared, but highlight meal of the trip! Rather traditional - “old-school” Swedish seafooder. It’s a must I would say. Subdued atmosphere, very old-Europe style. Quiet; ideal for business or intimate meal. Excellent, discrete service. Highly recommended. http://www.wedholmsfisk.se/?change_lang=eng

Dinner at East. If Wedholms Fisk was tranquil, this was not! Young crowd on busy street; noisy happy hour on the terrasse. At the edged of Östermalm, the trendy neighborhood of Stockholm.Very hip, in Japanese-Scandinavian interior, with graphic design on the walls. Sea of blond hair, mostly women – very pleasant to the eye! Went there for Japanese; eclectic Asian food. Started with very fresh nems, followed by combination of sashimi – the usual: tuna, scallops, salmon, tiger prawns, and avocado. Fun and good! http://www.east.se/index_en.html

Dinner at Lisa på Udden. At the bottom of Djurgärden island, at Biskopsudden, a 15-min taxi drive from the hotel, going through very bucolic grounds (flock of sheep). Part of marina complex it seems; right on the water. Fixed menu, as we are there with the business group, 15 of us. Bouillabaise and lamb. Very inspiring surroundings. http://www.lisapaudden.se/

Dinner at Prinsen. More sedate, very-established, wooden-paneled restaurant. Swedish-French fare; French waiter with the expected attitude! Tasted the reindeer – a Swedish specialty: delicious.

Dinner at Den Gyldene Feden. Zagat’s take: “Beautiful old-world surroundings” dating from the 18th century define this “charming, historic” Gamla Stan “favorite” “in a cellar in the Old Town”; almost “everyone loves this place” for its combination of “cozy” ambiance, traditional local dishes (plus some International offerings) and “efficient service”, even if some say it’s “too bad” it’s “getting a little staid” and “somewhat touristy” of late; P.S. “the Swedish Academy dines there on Thursdays.” Had a selection of 3 differently prepared herring, served with local cheese, as entrée, followed by a steamed sole: nicely dressed up plate but not particularly “savoureux”. http://www.gyldenefreden.se/start.html

Leisurely Sunday lunch at Melanders Fick, small restaurant on Gamla Stan, sitting outside facing the water. Great view again – there is water everywhere in Stockholm. Had delicious, fresh, cold salmon with light mayonnaise.

Dinner at Josefina. New large, open-air, trendy restaurant on Djurgärden near the Nordiska and Vasa museums. Hosted by Tomas and Kerstin (pronounced “Shaastinn”!) of ICE. Started with herring and had the Artic Char.

Business lunch at Sjöpaviljongen. Again herring and Artic Char! Nicely located on the water, near our business hosts’ office, west of the city center but still on one of the 14 islands that constitutes Stockholm. http://www.sjopaviljongen.se/welcome.html

Dinner at StureHof. Zagat’s take: A “smart”, “stylish crowd” of locals and “hip tourists” hails this “huge, fun place” “conveniently located” “in the hub of Stockholm’s cool Stureplan district” for its “high-quality” “traditional Swedish” menu with a “seafood specialty” and “friendly, professional” staff (including “sommeliers knowledgeable” about the “nice wine list”); three “lively” bars and a generally “buzzing atmosphere” mean it’s “too bustling” “for those who like quiet dining”, but “lively” sorts love the “great people-watching” – especially from the “wonderful terrace in summertime.” Had the “Toast Skagen” with shrimps (they call them prawns) in mayonnaise and vendace roe as starters, and a cold, lightly salted salmon (in sheets this time!) with dill-creamed potatoes (small nouvelle-patate style, en-saison and ubiquitous!) http://www.sturehof.com/

Curiously enough, some of the better restaurants were closed for vacation – July is the vacation month in Sweden; but still right at the height of the tourist season! Some that I would have liked to tried: F12; Leijontornet; Eriks Bakficka, and Operakällaren. Out of town, in the archipelago, one of the best restaurants there, the unpronounceable Oaxen Skägardskrog, also an inn and a yacht hotel.

Going home on July 15.

Pilgrimage to Stratford – second take of the season!

Pilgrimage to Stratford – second take of the season!


June 26

In Stratford for a second intake of theatre this year at the Festival – were here for the season’s opening last month. Came this time with Sylvia & André for the play tonight; we are staying for the week-end.

First fare for this stay: Cabaret, the celebrated musical. Great theatre! Anything that touches that era though is bound to be controversial. First sex: the play captures what was perceived as a depraved epoch where sexual mores where totally on the loose, and sex of all types – hetero, gay, lesbian and bi-sexual – was the driving force of a whole sub-culture in Berlin. Then there is the rise of Nazism, which goes in hand with the surge of anti-Semitism and violence. For many, this is the story. For others, and I tend to prefer that view, this is only the context. The real story is about the burst of creativity that came about in Weimar Berlin in culture and the arts – as the pre-war old society order had crumbled, and probably also, for many, out of sheer desperation due to the uncertainty and fragility of their livelihood – and which is depicted here, albeit in the seedier circles of “Kabarett” life.

To see Cabaret that way is more compelling if you drilled down in the history of this musical, to realize that the dramatic line of the story has gone through some serious iterations: this is a musical that is inspired from previous versions of the musical (Sam Mendes’ London revival in 1993 or Hal Prince’s Broadway original production in 1966), with strong influences from Bob Fosse’s 1972 movie version with Liza Minelli (which added a few new hits to the original musical), all of which is based on the 1951 John Van Druten’s play “I am a Camera” which was staged on Broadway, itself entirely based on Christopher Isherwood’s diary of his years in Berlin between 1929 and 1933, which he published in a couple of books in 1935 and 1939 (re-edited in a single book, The Berlin Stories, in 1954).

In that respect, it is interesting to read Isherwood’s own comments when he attended the rehearsals in 1951; he writes in the preface of the 1954 edition of his books: “As I watched those rehearsals, I used to think a good deal…about the relation of art to life. In writing Goodbye to Berlin (the second book), I destroyed a certain portion of my real past. I did this deliberately, because I preferred the simplified, more creditable, more exciting fictitious past which I’d created to take its place. Indeed, it has now become hard for me to remember just how things really had happened. I only knew how I would like them to have happened – that is to say, how I had made them happen in my stories. And so, gradually, the real past had disappeared, along with the real Christopher Isherwood of twenty years ago. Only the Christopher Isherwood of the stories remained…Now John (van Druten, the playwright) and Julie (Harris who played Sally Bowles) and the rest of them had suddenly swooped down on it, and carried bits of it away with them for their artistic use”. You wonder then how much of “reality” is left after subsequent treatments of Isherwood’s materials by Prince, Fosse, Mendes, and now Stratford director Amanda Dehnert! My point being that to appreciate this play, better focus on the “burst of creativity” aspect of it, rather than attach too much importance to its relation with history and factual accuracy.

Toronto Star’s review: http://www.thestar.com/Theatre/Stratford/article/433977
London NOW review: http://www.nnw.ca/NNW/displaydocument.cfm?DocumentID=2152&cabinetID=108&libraryID=32&cityID=1


Note: staying at the B&B “at Eleven”, and had an early dinner at “Bijou” – both highly recommended (more on this below)


June 27

Sunny today but not too warm – perfect weather to stroll along the streets of the city and the Avon River (referred to around here as “the lake”!) While Cynthia is at work… First stop at Callan Books, a small boutique-type bookshop lovingly tendered by what I can only assume to be its owner, J. Callan (bought something appropriate for Cynthia as a memento of this stay). Walked and drove around parts of town; Stratford must be the epitome of well-established, well-rooted English Canada agglomerations, with considerable history well preserved in its public buildings (e.g. City Hall) and numerous Victorian mansions nested in the tree-lined, shady streets that abound.

Lunch with Cynthia at “Down the street” restaurant, a small place with a small terrasse that gives on the street – good choice.

Second play of the stay: the opening of Fuente Ovejuna, by Felix Lope de Vega, in a new English version by this production’s director, Laurence Boswell.

Fuente est une pièce beaucoup moins connue, du moins du public anglo-saxon, mais d’un répertoire très populaire en Espagne de l’auteur extrêmement prolifique, Lope de Vega, contemporain de Shakespeare. Contrairement à ce dernier cependant, il approche l’histoire « par le bas » ; c'est-à-dire qu’au lieu de définir ses pièces historiques à partir de personnages illustres (par exemple César, Henri III, etc.), de Vega les construit, du moins celle-ci, à partir d’une populace qui détermine le cours de l’action et où les personnages historiques, dans ce cas-ci les très catholiques majestés Ferdinand d’Aragon et Isabelle de Castille, n’ont qu’un rôle secondaire et tout en rapport avec l’unique jeu de cette même populace.

Les faits qui sous-tendent la trame sont apparemment historiques : la population de Fuente Ovejuna qui se soulève en 1474 contre la tyrannie du maître-noble local, Fernan Gomez de Guzman, Commandant de l’Ordre de Calatrava – établie au 12e siècle pour reprendre des Maures l’Espagne – et l’exécute abominablement pour ces exactions économiques et sexuelles outrancières contre la population locale. Le fait mène à une « enquête » royale – où la torture fait figure de pratique courante à l’époque – qui n’aboutit à aucune condamnation faute de pouvoir identifier précisément ceux qui ont perpétré le crime. Et c’est là-dessus que de Vega construit sa trame et fonde la conclusion de l’histoire : les assassins de Gomez, ce n’est personne en particulier mais « tout le village de Fuente Ovejuna » ! Sur foi de quoi, les très catholiques majestés, se voyant confronter à l’option peu invitante de punir et d’exécuter tous les villageois, les exonèrent tous.

Contre cette trame historique, la pièce met en évidence et illustre la vie simple du peuple, avec ces petits drames (possible sécheresse) et ces petites joies (la célébration d’un mariage), celui de fait très anticipé et voulu du héros et surtout de l’héroïne du village, Laurencia, qui tombera victime de l’ignoble Gomez à l’appétit sexuel insatiable, et qui saura, dans une tirade remarquable et digne du féminisme moderne le plus radical, instiller le courage et la fureur qui manquaient à la gente masculine, jusque là peureuse et timorée, nécessaires pour les inciter à la révolte et à l’assassinat de l’infâme Gomez.

On y lira toutes sortes de messages – la victoire de l’action populaire sur la tyrannie, le début de la démocratie, le pouvoir des femmes en action, l’illustration de l’abjecte pratique de la torture – qu’importe: à chacun de choisir son message. Le fait est que c’est une œuvre très forte, magistralement interprétée, et où se côtoient tragédie et comédie, nobles et petites gens, en cela de Vega rejoignant tout à fait Shakespeare!

La critique du Toronto Star : http://www.thestar.com/Comment/article/451245
Celle du G&M : http://ago.mobile.globeandmail.com/generated/archive/RTGAM/html/20080629/wfuente30.html



Back to Shakespeare in the evening with the opening of All’s Well that Ends Well, one of these convoluted farces that challenge playwrights in mounting confusing and drôle stories, built around subtle – an not so subtle – intrigues and quid pro quos, to the delight of their audiences! In that, they are all from the same ink: Shakespeare, Molière, Feydault, Wilde, etc…

I enjoyed but it’s a comedy, and thus it does not have the impact on you that do tragedies. The more enjoyable part though is the mingling with the actors and artisans and selected audience after a première, a glass of wine in your hand; went out of my way, when Cynthia pointed her out to me, to meet with a young actress who played Joan of Arc in Bernard Shaw’s version that we saw at the Shaw Festival last year. Her name is Tara Rosling (I could not remember) and she was remarkable in her role – so powerful in her determination to accomplish her divine mission! Nice conversation about acting, moods that actors go through throughout a season, engagement contracts, unequal employment from year to year, the “free trade” between Stratford and Shaw, etc., a conversation that is joined by her partner, Patrick McManus, who is a member of the Company this year and plays in All’s Well (and 2 other plays this season!) Nice evening, and very clement weather; we walked back to the hotel.


June 28

Last play for me this time around: The Music Man. As musicals go, couldn’t be better put together. Everything is perfect: the interpretation, the tunes, the choreography, the music direction, the plot, the characters, the pleasure and emotion it inspires, the costumes, the accurate and sympathetic depiction of small America, everything! But to be truly taken, you have to be a “Musical man”, and I am not!

Review: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=72817a79-3763-4676-b3e5-71203f91d80f


Had drinks and dinner with a former colleague of mine, Doug Valentine, he and his wife Beverly being true fans and supporters of the Festival. More drinking while Cynthia is at the première of Hughie and Krapp’s Last Tape – could not get a ticket, but I will see what Dennehy does of them later on in the season…

June 29

On our way back to Toronto, after a copious breakfast at Foster’s Inn, best place we are told for breaking fast in Stratford, and, having been there a couple of time now, I believe it!


Little catalogue of places we like in Stratford, starting with food:

Pazzo: favorite pizza place for us; in basement, at the counter; a ritual by now. The place upstairs is not so good, tells me Doug who should know as he lives upstairs in same building, a flat he bought a few years ago for their stays in Stratford.

Foster’Inn: great place for full breakfasts, …and luncheons, …and dinners,…and drinks; down the Avon theatre.

Tango: best coffee and muffins place, we found, if you don’t have time or the appetite for a full breakfast.

York Street Kitchen: tiny but huge sandwiches!

Down the Street Bar & Restaurant: on the terrasse; good fare.

And then in the more “recherché”:

The Old Prune Restaurant: sitting next to Margaret Atwood and Alice Monroe, and their significant others, one night…oh well! And for the food too!

Bijou: Innovative modern French cuisine, as their advertising goes. Truly so! Enjoyed a remarkable meal with André & Sylvia before Cabaret the other night…

Still to try in the same category:

Rundles and The Church.

Others:

At Eleven: A B&B we stayed at; in a Victorian house, nicely renovated, in modern and sober tones, by Jeffrey Schmidt, the owner of the place. 3 bedrooms: Queen, King and Master Suite with sitting room; spacious. On a quiet, tree-lined street. Garden and pool. Delectable breakfast: eggs benedict with a delightful, very light hollandaise.

Callan Books: little shop, stocked with well-chosen titles; lots on Shakespeare and Stratford


Stratford, June 29, 2008

Vancouver – jogger’s paradise…as cities go…

Vancouver – jogger’s paradise…as cities go…

Yes, from the Hotel Vancouver where I am staying, a couple blocks off Georgia Street straight for the harbour, and you get on what they call “the Seawall” along the shoreline, which leads to Stanley Park, a 1000 acres of fantastic green space at the tip of Vancouver, totally surrounded by water (leading to North-Vancouver via the Lion’s Gate bridge). You can do the tour of the peninsula – I’d say 9 to 10 Km – go around the Lost Lagoon and get back on the Seawall (I did my usual 5 or 6 k only). A whole lot more paths inside the Park (see http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/pdf/stanleypark_overviewmap.pdf) Crisp morning, a bit of sun, lots of joggers of all ages, at all paces; great view of the city waterfront from the east tip of the park. Would love to do it again; and to do it full justice…

Board dinner at Bridges http://www.bridgesrestaurant.com/; a more intimate one at The Italian Kitchen the day after http://www.theitaliankitchen.ca/.

June 20, 2008