A festival that is typically overwhelming and exhausting, and where one struggles to get an immersive experience with the event and the theme? No, not the case with Play On. The event defied any stereotype of festivals being crammed with a lot of breadth, but little depth. Play On showed that it is possible to have a balance between an array of activities and opportunities to dig deep into the theme. It created a buzzing and camaraderie environment that hit the spot amongst Shakespearean fans seeking a fun day out, as a family or independently, to celebrate the playwright in a contemporary way.  

The key to Play On’s success was that it applied three simple ways of making a visitor experience outstanding: offering activities that are truly unique and hands-on, providing opportunities to learn something new, and using innovative technology. All activities on the Play On programme ticked these boxes. Whether it was, for example, the dancers of MoveMe teaching visitors how to dance like Romeo & Juliet, the Museum of London giving people the rare opportunity to touch 16th and 17th century artefacts that are normally behind displays, or poets presenting their favourite Shakespearean Sonnets and sharing how these influence their own poetry. However, there were two festival activities that ticked those boxes the most: ‘The Theatre Book – Macbeth’ and ‘The Dresser’.  

'The Theatre Book – Macbeth' was introduced as presenting Shakespeare’s tragedy in a visual way – visitors were about to find out that this was quite an understatement. Entering a dark room, the only spark of light pointed at an oversized and modestly decorated wooden book placed on a table, looking slightly boring even. But don’t judge a book by its cover. Through built-in projection mapping, sounds and detailed paper cut, the book magically became alive once opened, whilst telling the story of Macbeth in six pages. The complimenting way in which the book and the projections merged into one entity created fascination amongst viewers anticipating the next ‘wow’ effect with every scene. It was like watching a movie, whilst being reminded of it being ‘just’ a book with each page turn. Visitors were left to wonder how it is possible to use technology to transform a book into something so alive. For such questions, it was a pleasant surprise that the creators of the book, Davy and Kristin McGuire, were present in the room, adding an additional ‘wow’ effect to this experience.  

Similar to 'The Theatre Book – Macbeth', 'The Dresser' was a programme point that was a hidden gem. Being a broom-chamber sized, not particularly eye-catching pop-up room, the waiting list to enter was long. But the wait was worthwhile. Upon arrival, the question 'Will it be interactive or rather an observing demonstration?' was suddenly interrupted by a person in technical stage equipment dragging the event attendee to the door of the room, stating that Mr. Green was in a particularly bad mood as his dresser didn’t turn up and his performance in King Lear was only ten minutes away. Instantly, the door opens and the visitor is pushed inside and introduced as the replacement dresser. Having only seconds to realise, the door was locked, and in front stood a ‘distressed and helpless’ Christopher Green in a tiny dressing room between various clothes for his role. So the challenge was to get him dressed, whilst calming him down for his imminent performance; all in ten minutes. 

Despite the visitor knowing it was a staged role-play from the start, it was easy to immerse oneself in this experience. It was a unique and hands-on opportunity to learn about the chaos and nerves backstage prior to performances, and the close and dependent relationships between actors and dressers. It also constituted a rare chance to touch real costumes worn in Shakespeare productions and learn how tricky they are to put on, as well as to use one’s own acting skills. And interacting with Christopher Green as an expert in this field made one leave the room with a smile.  

On reflection, all elements of the programme were outstanding and the creators of Play On did create a truly delightful festival for all ages. It can be hoped that an event like this will be repeated soon. If so, it should definitely be saved in the calendars of even the busiest Shakespeare fans.