Review: Around the World in 80 Days-ish! is one for the kidsReview: Oddsocks’ Much Ado About Nothing draws the picnicking crowds

Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town.  You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com 

 

From the moment I arrived at Harlow Carr on Tuesday evening, it was apparent that this was no ordinary event. I watched as theatregoers young and old descended in their droves, weighed down with picnic hampers, wrestling with folding tables and chairs and wearing enough layers to make you question whether they were planning on camping overnight. I wondered if I had accidentally happened upon Harrogate’s very own Glasto.

But these people knew something I didn’t: that the Oddsocks’ summer do is the place to be. The touring company has been around for years – 34, in fact – and for around 20 of those, has stopped off in Harrogate. Relaxing into my (rented) deck chair in the gardens, in full and beautiful bloom, I marvelled as, all around, the generations gathered in groups, freshly baked goods emerged from Tupperware and prosecco flowed into plastic flutes. Oddsocks’ Harrogate audience, it seems, is a seasoned one.

The Bard’s consummate comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, is Oddsocks’ 2023 summer piece and, in its suitably Shakespearean outdoor setting, is a production bursting with energy and humour, interspersed with musical ditties, gags galore, improvisation and audience participation, with a small but perfectly formed (and very silly) cast of people who undoubtedly enjoy what they do.

Oddsocks has, in its own words, an “irreverent style” in bringing Shakespeare to life and, amidst the slapstick humour and modern additions, there is both a respect and a cheeky disdain for the Bard and his oft tricky text that can, for the modern theatregoer, prove challenging to unravel.

The approach is one that works to make the production appeal across the generations: quirky and fresh, lacking condescension or the need for a knowledge of the First Folio.  “You don’t have a clue what I’m going on about, do you?”, joked one player, to an audience that clearly didn’t quite follow her drift – but far from feeling foolish, the crowd delighted in being made to feel part of it.

Perhaps not one for the serious Shakespeare-lovers; but, for those in search of a civilised summer evening’s entertainment spent with family and friends, this is just the ticket. I’ll be back next year, albeit wearing another layer or two, and having prepared the perfect picnic in advance.

Oddsocks’ Much Ado About Nothing at RHS Harlow Carr is on tonight and is part of the Harrogate International Festival. For more information on this evening’s performance and this summer’s events click here. 

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Review: My first experience of Salon North in Harrogate

Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town.  You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com

After almost a decade living in London, I recently returned to live in my home town of Harrogate. Now thirty-something (and lacking the stamina of my teenage years), I’m looking for new ways to enjoy the town; I’m reacquainting myself with it, with more mature eyes. I’m on a cultural recce of the north, of sorts, to continue where I left off in London. My first foray came in the form of Berwins Salon North, on Thursday evening.

Billed as ‘TED-style talks exploring the most stimulating ideas in art, science and psychology’, the concept was originally launched by Helen Bagnall, in the big smoke, as Salon London. A trio of speakers, each an expert in their field, take to the stage for 25-minute slots, broken up with audience question time, and short intervals, for a top-up of wine.

Bagnall brought the concept to Harrogate, introducing the northern equivalent as part of Harrogate International Festivals’ cultural calendar, and it was clear, as I settled into my seat in the packed-out Victoria suite at the Crown Hotel, that the people of Harrogate are as ready as any Londoner to lap up this kind of evening’s entertainment.

The first of Thursday’s speakers was Sally Adee, an award-winning science writer with some pretty cool credentials. Her book, We Are Electric, is an exploration of the body’s ‘electrome’; she described how every living cell has a voltage, much like a tiny battery, each with a particular purpose. It’s fascinating stuff, destined, according to Adee, to transform science and medicine as we know it. Her passion was just as electric; anecdotal and digestible, it was the perfect starter for 10 for even the most unscientific minds (like mine).

Musician and writer Oliver Condy was up next, ready to prescribe classical music for any malaise. He described writing his book, Symphonies for the Soul, over the course of the covid lockdowns; while at his most isolated, it was classical music that provided the strength and solace to help him through. Whether you’re feeling angry, anxious, or want to be transported to another time or place: there’s a piece of music for that. Condy hypnotised his audience with snippets of some of his favourites, demonstrating the magical role music plays in connecting us with ourselves and others. Uplifting and engaging, I’m off to read his book and listen to some Rachmaninoff.

Another Oliver was the third and final guest: Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks, a title that refers to the average human lifespan, a potentially anxiety-inducing notion. Eek – really? Four thousand weeks in which to make the very most of our lives; to achieve all that we want to and more? In a world driven by compulsion towards productivity and goals, where does it end? You’ll be pleased to hear that Burkeman turns the idea of time management completely on its head – but I won’t ruin the ending. With humour and empathy, Burkeman had the room enthralled, in stitches, and, I’m certain, inspired.

Forget a night down the pub, or an evening in front of the TV – Salon North hits the sweet spot: a social, friendly evening, refreshingly unstuffy and accessible, curated with thought and craft. I came away feeling just a little bit smarter – and who doesn’t love that?

The next Salon North, ‘Rethinking Modern Britain’, is on July 6 – for more information click here. 

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