Tolethorpe Hall – Midsummer Night’s Dream

Reading time: < 1 minute...

Tonight we three drove to Tolethorpe Hall to see ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. David and Val did to, but we needed to take separate cars because of the number of people and the amount of food! The weather was perfect so we’d planned a picnic.

The secret with getting a good picnic spot at Tolethorpe is to get there early – so we left at 4.30 – Ann drove -and arrived at about 5.15. It got very busy, very quickly in the picnic area, so were pleased to have got there when we did!

Between us, we’d created an excellent picnic – ham, coleslaw, crisps, anchovies, olives, soft rolls… and something new (for me anyway), blue-cheese mayonnaise. Plus, a superb trifle for afters, all washed down with beer, elderflower cordial and Appletizer ..then tea and coffee.

For us, the weather was perfect, although Mum did say she felt cold.

We sat inside for a bit and watched the multitudes queue for the loo and then took our seats. The production started a little late – just after 8 and the place was packed.

After a predictable start, the Play got into its stride – and for me, it got better and better – in fact, I’d say, it was the best production I’ve seen. It was clear that a lot of thought had gone into the set and the special effects, but of course, it was the actors who carried it, with particularly strong performances from Titania (Lucy Swannell), Bottom (Terry Kenny) and Puck (Robert Anderson).

The interval was short, so we chose not to eat the dessert we’d packed. We’ll have that with David and Val tomorrow.

The production finished around 10.45 and as usual, there was a mad dash for the parking area. We had a trouble-free journey home and got in around 11.45