As a department we boast an extreme form of minimum kit, a solo act in fact. Our title “Special Events and Public Programmes” embraces a multitude of activities in which Blogarati would find something to interest them. In this posting, we will confine our report to one special event and one public programme.
The first of these is Shakespeare’s Globe on Tour who will be presenting
A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Old Schools Quadrangle, Bodleian Library. For the third year in succession the library has collaborated with the Oxford Playhouse and the Globe Theatre to bring top class open air theatre to a contemporary Shakespearean setting. We have built up a loyal audience and this year’s tickets are selling fast. The performances run from Tuesday 27 July to Sunday 8 August – no show on Monday 2 August. The evening performances start at 19.45 with Saturday matinées at 15.30 and Sundays at 14.30. Drinks are served before the show and during the interval in the magnificent 15th century Divinity School where you can admire Oxford’s finest fan vaulted ceiling. Additionally, there will be a small display in the Proscholium of Shakespearean material from the library’s collections. This year it will focus on items of interest to children. As usual, there will be pre-shows talks introducing the play. These take place in Convocation House, Bodleian Library, from 18.45 – 19.15 before most performances.
Tuesday 27 July Dr Bonnie Lander (Wolfson College)
Wednesday 28 July Dr James Methven (Oriel College)
Thursday 29 July Dr Helen Barr (LMH)
Friday 30 July Dr Eleanor Lowe (Oxford Brookes)
Saturday 31 July Professor Tom Betteridge (Oxford Brookes)
Sunday 1 August Dr Sam Thompson (St. Anne’s College)
Tuesday 3 August (Post Show Talk)
Wednesday 4 August (No Pre- or Post-Show Talk)
Thursday 5 August Professor Katherine Duncan Jones (Somerville College)
Friday 6 August Dr Emma Smith (Hertford College)
Saturday 7 August Dr Elisabeth Dutton (Worcester College)
Sunday 8 August Professor Laurie Maguire (Magdalen College)
*BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW AT THE OXFORD PLAYOHUSE BOX OFFICE*
Tel: 01865 305305 or online at www.oxfordplayhouse.com where a seating plan is available.
Tours of the Bodleian will also be available. Please telephone 01865 277224.
‘WIT WORKS’
Turning to the second item of particular note we are about to embark on something which will be an exciting departure from anything which the library has offered hitherto. This will comprise a series of free gallery talks presented between 13.00-14.00 every Friday during July and August to illustrate the summer exhibition
‘My Wit was always Working: John Aubrey and the Development of Experimental Science’. They will be given by Thomas Roebuck and Jeffrey Mille, both of Magdalen College. The talks will start in Convocation House (entrance via the Divinity School, Old Bodleian Library). The audience will then be escorted to the exhibition room, where select items will be expertly discussed. No booking is required and all members of the public are welcome . We hope to see you there.
Wilma Minty
Special Events & Public Programmes