Focus Birmingham

by Vidar Hjardeng

As last Wednesday was one of this summer’s wettest days, being inside a theatre was a good place to be. Arriving with friends at Stratford’s Courtyard Theatre at 5.45 pm we – along with fellow visually impaired patrons and their companions – met the describers, Ellie Packer and Carolyn Smith for the pre-show touch tour of Shakespeare’s comedy, As You Like It. Our leisurely tour began backstage where the wardrobe mistress let us have a hands on feel of some of the costumes. In the cd containing the pre-show notes, which I had received in the post a couple of days earlier, it was useful to learn that the characters begin the play clad in formal Elizabethan court attire and as the play progresses their 16th century costumes are gradually discarded in favour of more casual, contemporary dress. We were also shown a number of the props such as a wicker horse, and a cart which Rosalind has to drag onstage – no mean feat as it contained Celia (her cousin) hidden under various garments.

Walking onto the stage, which was made up of one metre square lime-washed panels set in a diagonal pattern, I was struck by the relatively minimal set. Set into the floor were 2 sets of trap doors through which characters appear and disappear, and one these also served as a sort of cooking pit. The back wall was also made up of some of these Jacobean-like panels, in which were 2 sets of double doors. The doors on ground level, when opened, revealed aspects of Duke Frederick’s home, whilst the second set, on an upper level, provided both a platform area and a view into the Forest of Arden. Again thanks to the pre-show notes which, as ever, were reprised ‘live’ 15 minutes before curtain-up, it was helpful to be told that at one point Orlando places an A3 card to the right of one of the upper doors, on which was written his love poem.

As a rule I prefer Shakespeare’s tragedies to his comedies, but I was really impressed by this production directed by Michael Boyd. My enjoyment of this popular comedy was also due, in no small measure, to Ellie and Carolyn’s well-delivered and skilfully timed commentary which helped me to get the most out of the humorous moments.

For many VIPs the success of an audio-described theatre visit owes almost as much to the welcome and the general attitude of the theatre staff, as it does to the actual audio description. I was once again reminded of this when, having foolishly forgotten my disabled parking badge, the front of house staff assured me there would be no problem in parking in one of the theatre’s disabled spaces if we just put a note on the dashboard confirming that we had their permission to do so.

The next RSC audio described productions at the Courtyard Theatre are The Winter’s Tale on the evening of Friday 14 August, and Julius Caesar on the afternoon of Saturday 29 August, and information on tickets, headsets and touch tours can be obtained by ringing the box office on 0870 6091110.