Shakespeare on Sydney Harbour

Last week I attended the Sydney Shakespeare Festival. (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday until 12 February 2012). Performances of Hamlet and The Taming of the Shrew are on the same outdoor stage in Bicentennial Park (West) on the Sydney foreshore. The stage set is minimal, with the skyline of Sydney providing the backdrop. The players walk out from the stage and to the audience for a theater in the round experience. Pick a seat close to the stage; it can be hard to hear, with the actors having to compete with traffic and aircraft (on the night I went a thunderstorm added to the atmosphere of Hamlet). Bring a picnic rung as you site on the grass and something warm to wrap up in (it gets chilly with the breeze off Sydney harbor). Bring something to eat and drink. The easiest way to arrive is on the Sydney Light Rail (get off at the Jubilee Park Station, walk down to the canal, alongside north towards the harbor and then across the bridge to the gazebo where the performances are held.