Traditional Shakespeare on Brownsea Island Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet returns to Brownsea Island this summer. From 29th July to 14th August. Brownsea Open Air Theatre (BOAT) will present the story of two young people, setting their faces against the hatred and division of their elders. Picture a peaceful Sunday morning in Verona, Italy with two leading families, the Montagues and Capulets poised for yet another fight. Caught up in this long-running feud are Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Will they overcome the prejudices of their parents and fall in love across the divide? One of the biggest theatrical projects in the south, BOAT’s annual Shakespeare production is set on The National Trust’s Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour. These beautiful surroundings make for a wonderful show, and a fantastic evening of traditional Shakespeare. BOAT receives excellent national and regional coverage, and has been featured in The Guardian as one of the UK’s Top 10 Open Air Theatre Venues, Debrett’s 2009 list of the top five things to do in
England and, in 2019, Woman’s Weekly featured BOAT as one of the Top 5 Open Air Theatres in the UK. It all began in 1964 when The Bournemouth Little Theatre Club hit upon the idea of marking the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth with an openair production on Brownsea Island, recently opened to the public by the National Trust. A team made visits to the island, which was hugely overgrown, waist high in many places and chose the area in front of the farm as the site for the performance: the cowshed being the only source of electricity. To this day the cowshed plays a vital role, being a store in the winter, a workshop in the spring, as the set is built, and as dressing rooms during the run. As they had an island setting for their performances, the play chosen in 1964 had to be The Tempest. Three evenings in August were planned. Open air Shakespeare was a novelty then and attracted TV interest from both BBC and ITV. The three
evenings sold out very quickly and a fourth evening proved necessary to cope with the demand. Not a single year has been missed since 1964 and now eight performances take place each year. BOAT is a registered charity, raising funds primarily for the National Trust and the Dorset Wildlife Trust. BOAT is professionally run, but all those involved with BOAT, whether onstage, backstage or front-ofhouse are unpaid volunteers. There is more to the BOAT experience than just the performance. The short ferry journey from Poole Harbour really sets up the evening, and sailing back to shore at night under the stars is memorable. Patrons often go to the island using their ticket from 5:00pm and explore the island or picnic. The ticket is fully inclusive, so patrons don’t need to pay anything else to enjoy this unique experience. See BOAT’s website for more information and to buy tickets www.brownsea-theatre.co.uk Steve Annandale
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