Friday, 1 February 2019

Of Bards & Bikes


McLaren Vale, South Australia …

Landscape picture of McLaren Vale, fields of grapevines in the foreground, a homestead building in the middle with the Mt Lofty Ranges and Fleurieu peninsula in the background.
Southern Vales and Mt Lofty ranges.
… on the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula
where I've had a lovely time with 'bards and bikes'.

Beginning with a night of fun and frolic with a picnic performance of William Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors by the Raw Shakespeare Project and finishing with the 2019 Tour Down Under. 

The play was held at the McLaren Vale and Fleurieu Visitor Information Centre which has a cafe, wine tasting centre, shop and art gallery. The audience brought along their picnic blankets and baskets.  We could spread out on the lawn or sit at tables on the verandah under the grapevines.


2 ladies sit at a square table eating their picnic food, looking out over a lawn area with wine barrels marking out the performance area. Two yellow spotlights are placed in readiness on the lawn between the barrels. On the left, a barrel has a closed umbrella attached.
The wine barrels demarcated the performance space.
Beyond the lawn is a rose garden path and a natural bushland creek.

Foreground - our picnic lunchboxes of potato salad, green salad, sliced bread, turkey and watermelon.Looking out onto lawns with a rosemary bush and two winebarrels in the middle ground and trees in the distance against a blue sky.
We feasted on cold meats,
bread, fruit, salads, crackers and cheese.

 

Comedy of Errors is a very funny play. If you are not familiar with it, it is the story of two sets of twins that become separated and the ridiculous situations that befall them when they cross paths years later.

We had a real treat with the Raw Shakespeare Project because they had genuine identical twins in their company.  Clever costume design and use of accessories help the audience track which twin is which but the costumery is so similar that it does require one to look twice!

The cast had a lot of fun with the script. There was bawdiness and brawling and wit with double entendrés and other wordplay.

We had a lot of laughs and thoroughly enjoyed the performance.


Spotlights on the performers. Eight actors in costume perform a final scene.


Comedy of Errors
Cast

A photo board of the cast of Raw Shakespeare Project. 8 photos, 2 rows of 4. Captions list actors from top row left to right the bottom row left to right.

Director, Duke Solinis & Aegon – Damien White
Dromio of Syracuse – Phoebe Shaw
Antipholus of Ephesus – Ognjen Trisic
Antipholus of Syracuse – Jabez Retallick
Dromio of Ephesus – Isabella Shaw
Adriana – Kate Van Der Horst
Luciana – Heather Crawford
The Abbess – Shannon Gray


A photo board belonging to the Raw Shakespeare Project depicting their previous performances.Their logo is in a circle in the middle.
Photo board of past performances.
Clockwise from top right: RAW on Tour 2017, Macbeth 2014,
Anthony & Cleopatra 2015, Midsummer Night's Dream 2013,
Much Ado About Nothing 2016, Taming of the Shrew 2013, Macbeth 2018.



The Raw Shakespeare Project's Comedy of Errors has three more performances left this season:

Marion RSL
31–39 Norfolk Rd, Marion, South Australia 5043 
2nd February 6:30 p.m.
3rd February 1:30 p.m.

Fox Creek Wines
90 Malpas Rd, McLaren Vale, South Australia 5171
9 February 7:00 p.m.


A close up of a wine glass toasting, from under the vines of the verandah, looking out onto the players on the lawn.
Cheers!


Amidst the support vehicles, two cyclists ride from left to right in the photo. On the left, the Bora team bikes are resting, in the distance are onlookers, on the right, bikes are stacked on the roof of a support car.
Ryan Mullen (Trek-Segafredo) from Ireland and
Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Merida) from Germany
riding by.

The following weekend, McLaren Vale was 'bike-city' for the 2019 Tour Down Under but I will save that story for the next blog entry.

There will be plenty of photos of team preparations and something special – the first ever giveaway on Lupey Loops!








Close-up top view of Lukas Pöstlberger's racing bike with an Austrian flag and his name stamped on the cross bar. The words on the right is the bike brand Specialized.
There's no mistaking that this bike belongs to Austrian National Champion Lukas Pöstlberger

 
What events do you enjoy?


Further Information


Fleurieu Peninsula: https://fleurieupeninsula.com.au/

McLaren Vale and Fleurieu Visitor Information Centre,  796 Main Rd, McLaren Vale, South Australia:

McLaren Vale Visitor Guide: https://www.mclarenvaleguide.com/ 

Raw Shakespeare Project: https://www.rawshakespeareproject.com.au/

Tour Down Under: http://tourdownunder.com.au/


Related Posts on Lupey Loops


"Tour Down Under 2018 Photos":
"International Visitors", 8 January 2019: https://lupeyloops.blogspot.com/2019/01/international-visitors.html

"Tour Down Under 2017 at Marvellous McLaren Vale", 3 February 2017: https://lupeyloops.blogspot.com/2017/02/tour-down-under-2017-at-marvellous.html





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13 comments:

  1. mamasmercantile02/02/2019, 03:49

    Sounds like a great production and a fun evening out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie02/02/2019, 19:08

      It sure was, Lorraine. It left us feeling happy for days afterwards.

      Delete
  2. Meredith03/02/2019, 00:13

    Simply beautiful. Enjoy my friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie03/02/2019, 09:31

      Thank you Meredith. The talented actors were full of enthusiasm and good humour. It is obvious that they love what they do which makes an enjoyable night for all.

      Delete
  3. Michelle03/02/2019, 16:37

    I saw The Comedy of Errors for the first time at the Pop Up Globe last September - such a funny story!! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and what a treat having actual identical twins!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie06/02/2019, 15:04

      The first time I read the play I was laughing out loud at its ridiculousness. To see it performed is always a treat. I love the way different companies can add their own twists and interpretations to it.

      Delete
  4. The Liberty Belle07/02/2019, 10:48

    What an ideal outing! "Until I know this sure uncertainty, I'll entertain the offered fallacy."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie16/02/2019, 10:23

      Indeed! That's where the trouble all starts but in this case, it was very funny.

      Delete
  5. Irma09/02/2019, 19:05

    What a beautiful environment.
    It looks like a very nice evening out.
    Best regards Irma

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie16/02/2019, 10:25

      It couldn't have been more peaceful and perfect, Irma.

      Delete
    2. Jodiebodie16/02/2019, 10:32

      De avond was rustig en perfect. Helemaal leuk.

      Delete
  6. handmade by amalia16/02/2019, 04:31

    Sounds like a wonderful production. I wish I could have joined you.
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie16/02/2019, 10:27

      Me too. I am enjoying the thought of that, Amalia. The evening was relaxed enough that you could have brought your craft along at the same time if you are one of those people talented enough to do two things at once.

      Delete

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