The Ghost of Illiam Dhone

[curiouswombat]

Yesterday evening D-d and I attended a play. It was a rather excellent event - an outdoor stage and an invitation for the audience to bring their own chairs and their picnic.

The play itself told the story of a figure from Manx history, William Christian also known as Illiam Dhone ('Brown (W)Illiam), starting at the moment of his execution, and looking at how it had come to this point.

He was left in charge of the island by Lord Stanley during the English Civil War and handed it over to the Parliamentarians after the execution of the Earl, to prevent bloodshed. There is some debate as to whether he was, then, a hero or a traitor.

The play was rather good - and the surroundings gorgeous, especially as the temperature through the evening was a warm 20-22C.

I have put some pictures under the cut - with a couple especially for pellegrina...



We hurried after work as it was at Milntown, in Ramsey, so about a 30 minute drive after I picked D-d (and her friend) up. I had rushed to Tesco and got food, and had remembered that we had a couple of folding chairs in the shed which I threw in the boot - and we arrived in time to actually park without too much trouble.

Here are the audience who were already there before us;



We were sitting just in front of that little green tent - where they sold tea and chocolates during the interval.

The space nearest to the stage had been left mostly, by unspoken consent, for those with picnic rugs rather than chairs. D-d's friend Jenny had our picnic blanket and her 'theatre buddy' joined her with their picnic - a bottle of wine and two bars of chocolate! (Theatre buddy - her boyfriend really doesn't like theatre - and there is another young man in the group of friends who does, but has no partner - so they attend things together.)

D-d and I had sushi as a starter, chicken salad, and fresh fruit salad with yoghurt for sweet - and very good it was, too. But there were some posh picnickers around us - someone in front had a selection of cold meats and assorted salads - however they were as nothing compared with a couple behind us; D-d poked me and said "Mum... the couple behind us are eating quails' eggs!" and they were. With glasses of wine and a finger salad. Anything Glyndebourne can do, we can do too!

Anyway here is the view towards the stage, with the house in the view too. Milntown was the birthplace of Illiam Dhone, so the perfect setting for the World Premier of the play!



One of the characters was 'a Great Black Dog' - and as soon as it appeared on stage my thoughts went back to Tolkien 2012 last year - and pellegrina...





This gives you a better feel for the backdrop to the stage -



As the evening proceeded those trees were filled with the voices of the rooks returning to their rookery for a while - but it certainly added to the atmosphere rather then detracting.

Once he action really got under-way I put the camera back in my bag - I didn't want to distract myself or anyone else - but not before I took this picture of these young ladies who provided much of the music -



There were midgies around - and a very nice young lady who was part of the production team kept passing anti-midge cream around the audience - which was a first for me as a theatre-goer, I have to say!

All in all a very good evening. And more exciting, theatrical stuff, to come on Saturday - I'll be more cultured than yoghurt by the end of the week.

Comments

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

What a fun day!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It really was - just such a different way to spend an evening.

[shirebound]

What a lovely setting for a play! I wonder if they would have let me bring Pippin.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Brown William? William Brown? Just William?

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I didn't notice any dogs - but I think they might well have done.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Hmm - it had never occurred to me. I wonder if Richmal Crompton ever read Manx history?

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

What a lovely, casual experience!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It was - everyone enjoying the sunshine, sitting on a wide assortment of chairs and blankets, picnicking and then enjoying the theatre - it was a wonderfully casual event.

[chaotic-binky.livejournal.com]

It looks fun! How lovely to have a picnic as well while watching the play.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It really was a fun way to spend an evening - picnicking really added to it - that and looking to see what everyone else was picnicking on!!

[pellegrina.livejournal.com]

:-D My tail was much better!

[kathyh]

Looks lovely. I would have been very grateful for the anti-midge cream but it's certainly unusual at a theatre :)

[engarian.livejournal.com]

It looks like a lovely evening was had by all.

- Erulisse (one L)

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

You are right. I hadn't even noticed the black dog was tailless!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

The anti-midge cream seems to have worked, too. it was an Avon Skin so Soft one that the compère assured us was as used by the British army!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It really was a lovely evening; although I'm glad that I found the folding chairs as I might have got a bit stiff sitting all evening on the picnic rug.

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Ooh that looks so fun! I love the dog. You're the second person on my f-list who has posted about going to outdoor theatre this week.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It was really good - I loved sitting in my comfy garden chair, eating my picnic whilst watching the play so much! I'd be happy to do it again, for sure.

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Very nice, great setting.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It was a really good place - the space was just the right size - there were about 100 - 120 people I think, and it made it so much more of an event!

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

It sounds lovely! Thank you so much for sharing it (and the pics!) with us. :)

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

I love outdoor theatre. We used to enjoy a local outdoor Shakespeare Festival but they moved it in doors and it hasn't been the same since.

What a great place for a picnic and a play all in one. But quail eggs?
LOL
I like your menu better.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a really enjoyable evening. And what perfect weather for it.

[ellynn-ithilwen.livejournal.com]

It looks really great! :)

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

My pleasure. It was really good.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

This same theatre company come over and do an outdoor Shakespeare production each year too - in the ruins of Peel Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peel_Castle) - but Milntown was a better venue by far as the lawn is so nicely sheltered.

Quail's eggs are one of those things posh people have in picnic baskets in books!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

The weather really made it - no sitting shivering and wondering if you are going to be able to see if the brollies go up!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It was a really good evening - so nice, for us, to have such nice weather for it!

[myrhiann.livejournal.com]

It sounds like a wonderful event, and so nice that the weather was kind to you. It is wonderful to take part in open air events when the weather is nice.

When I lived in Sydney in another lifetime there used to be free theatre in the park in the summer. It was magic, even when we were drizzled on. I saw Les Miserables and a Shakespeare comedy about twin brothers that had been separated when their boat was wrecked. I know the name well, but it eludes me at the moment. At the latter my friend and I found ourselves sitting on the lawn only a few feet away from a very well known Australian actress (theatrical, not TV) which was like the icing on the cake!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It was one of those serendipitous things - had it been the sort of summer we have had for the past few years it would probably have been raining. And whilst we would have sat with our umbrellas up, a nice warm 20* and no rain was definitely better.

Was it A Comedy of Errors?

It is always fun when you recognise someone famous attending the same thing as you are.

[estelcontar1.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a very interesting play. I see you and D-d had a great time yesterday.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

The play was fascinating - even though most of the audience knew his story well. All in all it was an excellent evening.

[myrhiann.livejournal.com]

Yes. It was 'Comdey of Errors'.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

What a delightful way to spend an evening. And I love the black dog. He looks quite ominous.

[bojojoti.livejournal.com]

Lovely backdrop. What a pleasant outing.

Smiling at your "culture" remark!

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

Yay, that sounds absolutely awesome! Watching a play and having a picnic is always a great combination, and yours makes me very envious. The picnic part as well; ours usually were much more frugal, and you can't buy really edible things like these in our supermarkets. What is a finger salad, by the way? Cerstainly not my first association with this term... *g* The rooks remind me of an interlude with a peacock on a similar occasion once, where the bird hopped onto the stage and strutted around in front of the audience.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It was a lovely evening - the dog was a neat way to help tell the story.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It was a lovely spot for a play - it made for a lovely evening.

And yes, you can't beat a bit of culture... in life or yoghurt!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

We are fortunate - our supermarkets sell a lot of pre-packed fresh food and so it is easy to grab a tray of sushi, a couple of ready made salads, and a couple of ready made fruit salads. We could have had a wide selection of sandwiches, or chicken satay with peanut sauce and so on.

The ladies' finger salad was basically an assortment to be eaten in the fingers - unlike d-d and I who had knives and forks. So they had tiny tomatoes, and batons of cucumber, celery and carrot alongside their quails' eggs.

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

Thanks for explaining; googling only gave me okra or biscuits. We would call that "dipping veggies" hereabouts or simply "crudités" (though I don't know if the translated word means the same than the original I looked up, particularly since the French original is something different. Kitchen English is full of traps.)

I fondly remember my delight at my first visit to Marks & Spencer - in Paris while it still existed. We had pe-packed fresh food already then, but it left and leaves much to desired in terms of taste mostly simply is too fat and full of preservatives. Sandwiches are the best option, but they rarely have any veggie varieties, so I haven't sampled the quality for a long time.