Day 25!

Today, I slept in. Then got on a bus to Stamford. We arrived at Tolethorpe Manor where we were met by an actor/manager for the theatre. This would be our only outdoor theatre, and I was very excited. We first took a look at the stage which was set up for Romeo and Juliet for that night. The set was a Gypsy camp complete with two authentic caravans. The entire audience would sit under a giant permanent tent. In case of rain, the audience would be fine, and we were told the actors would go on.

From there, we went back to the manor and toured the upstairs. Each room contained hundreds of costumes and props. I learned here that all the actors are volunteers for this theatre. And, it was clear that if they were anything like our tour guide, they were a very passionate bunch when it came to theatre.

We left the theatre to go to the town until the performance. Stamford is yet another cute little English town full of old churches and neat shops. I ended up having tea in a little bakery on the square and read Pride and Prejudice while I did so. I also explored an antique store a few minutes outside the city center. Overall, it was a relaxing afternoon.

At around 5:00 pm, we left Stamford to go back to Tolethorpe manor. There we would be having a picnic on the lawn sponsored by Harlaxton. I figured we would be the only ones, but no, nearly every audience member that night came to eat a picnic on the lawn before the performance.

Soon afterward, we took our seats with blankets in tow. It was already freezing. But, the show went on! Even when the entire audience was shivering and the actors could see their breath.

However, I can't say the cold bothered me too much. The play as a whole was great. Juliet was the daughter of a gypsy leader and Romeo was the son of a wealthy landowner. For the ENTIRE performance, the actors stayed in character. Aka: they were doing things when we walked in and when we walked out, Romeo and Juliet lay dead. In addition, the actors were really passionate, and it made for an awesome performance for a play that I really don't even like (haha).

I then hopped back on the bus and headed back to Harlaxton. Another pretty cool day.