The Dream in High Park

Abstract

A few evenings before the closing of Toronto Free Theatre’s 1985 Romeo and Juliet in Toronto’s High Park, a pre-show spectator was heard to remark without the least disgruntlement: “Would you believe, Brenda, I’m sitting here in the midst of two thousand people and a bird splats on my shoulder? Now what are the chances of that?” In Toronto, and elsewhere in Canada, the chances are good that such an invasion of art by nature can occur with unsolicited frequency. Following in the tradition of other outdoor Shakespeare festivals such as Regent’s Park Theatre in London and Joseph Papp’s Shakespeare in the Park in New York, Toronto Free’s Dream in High Park has become, after three successive seasons, a prominent feature of Toronto’s summer cultural life. For Guy Sprung, artistic director of Toronto Free Theatre, the splat of the seagull is more than an amusing instance of the interface of art and nature that occurs in the outdoor setting. It is a reminder of the TFT mandate to put the bowels back in Shakespeare, strip him of elitist preciosity and serve him up rough but ready; TFT’s Dream in High Park represents an enthusiastic return to the roots of theatre - performance outdoors, with a broad, popular appeal.