Shake it up with Othello in the Park!

   It's been a long time since we last had a proper picnic. The opportunity arrived when the wifey decided to catch "Othello" - part of Singapore Repertory Theatre's "Shakespeare in the Park" series. For the uninitiated,  "Shakespeare in the Park" is an annual arts event where one of the Bard's plays is staged at the Fort Canning Green. What makes this special is that the "theatre" is actually the open space in front of Fort Canning Centre and the audience gets to picnic under the stars at the same time. 

   We were praying hard that the rain that morning would stop in time. Thank God, not only did it stop, it resulted in a cooling evening, perfect for picnicking outdoors. You would be surprise at the sheer number of people that turned up. One would imagine Singaporeans wouldn't be into such "high brow" forms of art. One would be wrong. The queue to the entrance snaked all the way from Fort Canning's Gothic Gate all the way uphill to the end of the nearby carpark.

    I must compliment  SRT on it's version of Othello. Although still speaking Shakespearean English, the play is set in modern times. The set consists of missiles, radar and modern day camouflage (this is after all a "military" play). The special effects are really quite impressive. You can expect the arrival of a Blackhawk helicopter as well as view through the lens of night vision goggles. I found it pretty hilarious when an Audi A5 drove onto the stage - product placement can't be more blatant than that (Audi is the main official sponsor).

   All in all, it was an enjoyable event, with good food, good entertainment; and best of all, good company.