sent from: London, UK. destination: Venice, California, USA

“Want to see ‘As You Like It‘ at the Southwark Playhouse?” Maria asks me.
Sounds fab, I think, especially as I have an interest in a Shakespearian frame of mind. The play starts, it seems familiar – have I seen it before? Maria looks at someone’s programme – “Oh, I guess it’s Much Ado About Nothing.” Ha. No matter, it’s all good. The young cast perform decently, some excellently, but I can’t help but notice how plummy all their accents are. I feel like I’m watching a bunch of posh kids playing dress-up, ‘let’s put on a Shakespeare play, Mummy, it really would be maarvelous /snort“. At the interval we look more closely at the programme – “Oxford University Dramatics Society presents…” oh gosh golly!!