STRATFORD, Ontario is one of those very quiet towns in Ontario which do not believe in progress. So the population thru its Council of Elders ( or its equivalent ) resolved that there would be no huge Malls, factories, shopping centers in the town. They believe in living the kind of life enjoyed by their forefathers. So the bottom line is, if you stay in this kind of town in Canada, you won't find much jobs, unlike in the big cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal or Quebec. That is if you enter Canada with an Independent Immigrant visa.
Of course, if you are already fed up living in the cities, visiting these small towns ( or spending a week end in them ) is quite refreshing.
Stratford is one of them. We visited this community last week end just to watch a live performance of CAMELOT.
There are around 4 live theaters in this town. The theaters are really luxurious in their set up. These kinds of cultural centers do not exist in Toronto. The theaters in my city are small, plain and they pale compared with Stratford when it comes to live theater presentations.
CAMELOT was something to watch but one must have seen the movie at least once and one must also have a grasp of the Arthurian legends in order to appreciate. You see, the live theater can not tell much when showing these epics the way the movies would do it. Cast of thousands, the movie poster would announce. In the play its good if you have a cast of 20 actors and some of them would have 2 roles to play.
Anyway, I enjoyed watching the play because of the stage set up, the costumes, the musical talent of the actors. They really SING unlike in some Hollywood musicals which used dubbed voices in the musical numbers. Thus, when you watch a play, you will feel different compared to what you feel when watching a movie. The movie is fake but nice, the Play is more realistic. The actors are really acting and emoting. They do their lines and actions in just one TAKE, no room for errors..
The opening scene of this Camelot in Stratford is unique. Again you must know that in the legend, Merlin tutored King Arthur from the time he was a child until when he became a King..
So in the opening scenes, they showed Merlin and a LIVE HAWK which flew from nowhere and landed in Merlins arm. The hawk in the story is King Arthur for Merlin's magic transformed him into different animals. With his experience becoming a hawk, a deer, etc. Arthur acquired a kind of insight that made him the wisest and kindest King of England.
To continue my description of the opening scene: the hawk flew again from Merlins arm, and seconds later a young boy appeared. The young boy was Arthur changing back as himself. The hawk of course, is already in someone's arms back stage. The boy Arthur likewise disappeared, then a teen aged Arthur showed up in a fleeting non speaking part. He also vanished and at last came the actor who would play Arthur as a King. All three actors have the same outfit. The boy Arthur grew up to be the King in just less than 2 minutes!..
I found the sequence absolutely cool!
Movies are very good..Now I am convinced that live plays, when produced very well are better than film!!--#
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