FAIRIES and mechanical dolphins are helping the RSC to celebrate the magic of midsummer this week.
Known as Shakespeare’s favourite time of year and long regarded as a magical time when the portal between our world and the world of the fairies opened up allowing spirits to cause mischief and mayhem, the RSC is collaborating with Slung Low for a series of unique event in the theatre gardens.
Slung Low, who create theatrical adventures for audiences in unexpected spaces, have been commissioned – working together with Rash Dash, the School of Night and a group of artists – to create a ‘Fairy Portal Camp’.
Within this camp, audiences can take part in free activities including willow-work, poetry classes, improvisation, cooking, costume making, singing, dance classes and writing workshops.
The camp also includes regular silent disco ‘fairy raves’ around the bonfire, a chance to help cook dinner for everyone present and watch that evening’s performance under the trees.
The camp is open until Friday (June 24) and celebrations are set to culminate on Saturday (June 25) with an attempt to ‘open the portal’ between the two worlds featuring a ceremony of feast, fire and song – complete with mechanical dolphins travelling down the River Avon.
Alan Lane, Director of Slung Low, said: ‘We’ve been set some pretty big challenges in our time but trying to open the doorway between this world and the fairy one is the biggest yet.
“We all know there’s magic in the words of Shakespeare and the worlds he created.
“We’re looking forward to combining that with the special power that comes from eating, singing and dreaming together at the very moment of midsummer.”
All events are free but tickets for the ceremony on Saturday must be booked online at www.rs.org.uk/fairyportalcamp or by calling 01789 403493.
