Stratford better send me a fruit basket for this publicity.

Listen. I want you to imagine I am John Donne, and you all are my wife. We are a compass, and our legs move separately, but in unison.

If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two ;
Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th' other do.

And though it in the centre sit,
Yet, when the other far doth roam,
It leans, and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home

Such wilt thou be to me, who must,
Like th' other foot, obliquely run;
Thy firmness makes my circle just,
And makes me end where I begun. - Forbidding Mourning

This is a roundabout and highly tool-ish way of saying, “So, yeah, I've been gone. Suck it.” Did you laugh at “and grows erect, as that comes home”? Because I always do.

But this post isn't about John Donne. Oh, no. It's about another poet. BILLY SHAKES. Yes, him. Earlier this fall, I ventured to Stratford, Ontario to see Macbeth with a friend. We drove four hours through Canada for this because we are nerds. Way back when, I promised pictures. I am here to make good!

First of all, there was some driving. Here was our path:


Detroit to Stratford.


I did all the driving because I am fabulous. I also look fabulous doing it.


At the border, we exchanged out American dollars for cold, hard, Canadian cash. And then I licked it. It tasted like maple syrup and freedom.


We came upon a lovely, lonely church along the way. It appealed to my inner Catholic child, and we stopped to take pictures.


After about 3.5 hours, we arrived in Stratford, at the Festival Theatre. Fun history fact: It's the first thrust stage of its kind since the original Globe. This place is serious business.

We at lunch and wandered:


Playing on a bridge.


This is a good shot demonstrating how lovely the area is in early Fall. Very Michigan-like, which put my wily Wolverine heart at ease.


Climbing a tree.


Here's the front of the Festival Theatre. Yes, that's him.


BILLY SHAKES.


And so I took a quothing picture.

No photos allowed inside the theatre, so no piccies for you! It was an awesome production that made use of plasma screen televisions that changed as the scenes changed.


After the play, I got a picture with an arbor. Arbors are important in Renaissance drama. In The Spanish Tragedy, someone woos and is killed upon the very same arbor! Not this one.

At this point, we ate, wandered, and drove back to Detroit. Woo.

Links For Your Perusal

Stratford, Ontario's Site
The Shakespeare Festival
The Festival Theatre

(Stratford shows non-Shakespearean plays as well from many eras, so if that's not your cup of tea, look about!)