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Abigail Stevens: Writer & Editor
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Travel
A day in the eyes of a theatregoer in Ashland, Oregon
Tucked away in the forests of Oregon is one of the most underrated destinations in the world. The lovely town of Ashland, Oregon is rarely featured in major travel publications. Yet it is a gorgeous world of its own, comprising a distinct Shakespearean and LGBTQ+ friendly culture, lots of sustainably delicious food, and fairy tale-esque forests. Its claim to international fame is the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), but still few people have heard of it.
Having visited Ashland several times, I fall into a wistful routine every time I go back. The first thing I do is stop by all my favorite shops on Main Street and in the surrounding area. I lose myself in a cacophony of fairycore, vintage, and neoteric clothes, home goods, and trinkets from the likes of Thread Hysteria, Book Exchange, and Rare Earth. Among Ashland’s boutique shops, the department store Paddington Station is the crown jewel.
Having visited Ashland several times, I fall into a wistful routine every time I go back. The first thing I do is stop by all my favorite shops on Main Street and in the surrounding area. I lose myself in a cacophony of fairycore, vintage, and neoteric clothes, home goods, and trinkets from the likes of Thread Hysteria, Book Exchange, and Rare Earth. Among Ashland’s boutique shops, the department store Paddington Station is the crown jewel.
Birmingham Cocktail Weekend 2023
Cover image by Anne-Marie Hayed for BCW 2023. | Local business owners proudly tell me about how in the past few years, Birmingham has become a hub for award-winning bartenders, training opportunities, and extraordinary drinks. Jacob Clarke and Katie Rouse of Couch and Matt Arnold of Passing Fancies were all finalists of World Class Great Britain, with Arnold winning and advancing to the global finals. Both bars (and others in Birmingham) are among the Top 50 Cocktail Bars in the UK.
July 2023 marked the 9th year of Birmingham Cocktail Weekend (BCW), where attendees can purchase a £5 wristband for access to £5 signature cocktails and other deals across town. Some venues also host masterclasses and tastings—often centred around a particular spirit—for the occasion. I reached out to Alex Nicholson-Evans, founder and director of Living for the Weekend, the company behind BCW, to learn more about the event: in the last decade, BCW has grown from "a handful of venues" and about 1,000 attendees to over 40 venues and more than 3,000 attendees.
July 2023 marked the 9th year of Birmingham Cocktail Weekend (BCW), where attendees can purchase a £5 wristband for access to £5 signature cocktails and other deals across town. Some venues also host masterclasses and tastings—often centred around a particular spirit—for the occasion. I reached out to Alex Nicholson-Evans, founder and director of Living for the Weekend, the company behind BCW, to learn more about the event: in the last decade, BCW has grown from "a handful of venues" and about 1,000 attendees to over 40 venues and more than 3,000 attendees.
The Latest From Bristol
Since I moved to the UK, I have found that everywhere I go, people tell me that Bristol is the place to be. It certainly sounded like my dream city: a university town with amazing food and drink options and artsy vibes. Appraisals of Bristol border on cliché, which means the city must continuously evolve to live up to these expectations. When I finally travelled there, I was armed with several National Geographic Traveller (NG) recommendations and hopefully I came away with a few new ones for you.
"History's about to get overthrown": SIX in San Fransisco
Cover image by No Swan So Fine, used under a CC BY SA 4.0 license. | Topping the charts and ruling the box office right now is Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s SIX, the pop-concert musical about the trials and tribulations of the six wives of Henry VIII. The show debuted in the West End in 2019 and on Broadway in 2020, and is still running at both locations. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time for the North American tour and got to see these queens live in concert at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco!
SIX is a short musical, clocking in at around an hour and a half, during which the six wives of Henry VIII are decked out in full punk-rock regalia for a concert and a competition: each queen will tell her story and the one who has had the worst experience with Henry will become the lead singer of their band. Marlow and Moss wrote SIX while they were students at Cambridge University for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Now, they are the winners of the 2022 Tony Award for Best Original Score Written for Theatre. Costume designer Gabriella Slade also won the Tony for Best Costume Design of a Musical, and the show has received numerous other accolades.
SIX is a short musical, clocking in at around an hour and a half, during which the six wives of Henry VIII are decked out in full punk-rock regalia for a concert and a competition: each queen will tell her story and the one who has had the worst experience with Henry will become the lead singer of their band. Marlow and Moss wrote SIX while they were students at Cambridge University for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Now, they are the winners of the 2022 Tony Award for Best Original Score Written for Theatre. Costume designer Gabriella Slade also won the Tony for Best Costume Design of a Musical, and the show has received numerous other accolades.
London Bookshop Crawl: Walking, Reading, and Relaxing
Every so often, I return to London to get lost in the myriad of shows, museums, and stores, and I never go to the same restaurant twice, as I am always missing out on another. This time, I dedicated an entire weekend to one of my favourite pastimes: book shopping. I’d been planning this short trip for months, and it happened to fall at the end of a stressful week in the middle of a stressful term. I was ready for a holiday where it was totally acceptable to have a night-in with some fantastic London cuisine, and finally read Red, White & Royal Blue after a long day of walking through bookshops.
For the past eight years, the curious minds at Ninja Book Box have invited fellow bookworms to gather and explore London together. Bex, one of the directors of Ninja Book Box, says this event started with a simple post on Twitter asking people if they wanted to go book shopping. The event has expanded over the years- it now includes guided tours through specific neighbourhoods, a quiz night, and discounts at participating locations.
For the past eight years, the curious minds at Ninja Book Box have invited fellow bookworms to gather and explore London together. Bex, one of the directors of Ninja Book Box, says this event started with a simple post on Twitter asking people if they wanted to go book shopping. The event has expanded over the years- it now includes guided tours through specific neighbourhoods, a quiz night, and discounts at participating locations.
Easter Vac Diaries: With Love from California
I had not been home in eight months when I boarded the gruelling eleven-and-a-half-hour flight from Heathrow to LAX. Just like how everyone who grew up in the UK isn’t nearly as excited as I am about travelling around Europe, I’m pretty apathetic towards Los Angeles and San Francisco. Been there, done that. Many, many times. But California still has its perks, including plenty of good food and drink and some nice places to sit and work without distraction.
I met up with my family and practically demanded that we visit the Academy of Motion Pictures & Sciences Museum, since I have not been back to LA since it opened. This establishment has several floors of exhibitions narrating cinematic history and innovation, and hosts events such as the “May the 4th” celebration with many interactive Star Wars-inspired activities. When I visited, an extensive exhibition on the making of the Godfather films was on display, as well as dozens of costumes and iconic outfits from the red carpet, including the dress Halle Berry wore to the Oscars for her landmark Best Actress win in 2002, David Bowie’s Goblin King costume from The Labyrinth, and Okoye’s armour from Black Panther.
I met up with my family and practically demanded that we visit the Academy of Motion Pictures & Sciences Museum, since I have not been back to LA since it opened. This establishment has several floors of exhibitions narrating cinematic history and innovation, and hosts events such as the “May the 4th” celebration with many interactive Star Wars-inspired activities. When I visited, an extensive exhibition on the making of the Godfather films was on display, as well as dozens of costumes and iconic outfits from the red carpet, including the dress Halle Berry wore to the Oscars for her landmark Best Actress win in 2002, David Bowie’s Goblin King costume from The Labyrinth, and Okoye’s armour from Black Panther.
London Theatre: Something Old, Something New, and Something Cheap in 2023
Cover image by @Pedro Szekely, used under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license. | In today’s London theatre scene, the biggest stars regularly appear, and new talent has the chance to learn and take to the stage. The area comprised of Piccadilly, Soho, and Covent Garden is a sight to behold – especially during the Christmas season, when twinkling lights dangle from the rooftops, and you can find a Pikachu wearing a Santa suit socialising with a Darth Vader in Leicester Square. I’d choose the West End over Broadway any day. London is the home of musical phenomena and indie hits, a seat of theatrical history and innovation – where directors, writers, designers, and actors are remaking the status quo and addressing socio-political issues, often drawing on lived experience to do so.
Just after Christmas, I went back to London to see two of my favourite musicals for the second time (buying the cheapest possible seats for each): Moulin Rouge! and Matilda.
The latter has been the pride of the UK for ten years, and the production is still selling out nightly. This show is full of youthful wonder, brought to life by a rotating cast of almost thirty child actors. Matilda remains a heart-warming spectacle, and an unmoving pillar of the London theatre scene; the Cambridge Theatre has been its home since it debuted in 2011.
Just after Christmas, I went back to London to see two of my favourite musicals for the second time (buying the cheapest possible seats for each): Moulin Rouge! and Matilda.
The latter has been the pride of the UK for ten years, and the production is still selling out nightly. This show is full of youthful wonder, brought to life by a rotating cast of almost thirty child actors. Matilda remains a heart-warming spectacle, and an unmoving pillar of the London theatre scene; the Cambridge Theatre has been its home since it debuted in 2011.
Bimble Around the World
Part of a collaboration I arranged between The Oxford Blue and Bimble. | If you were to plan a trip to Paris, landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame would probably be first on your itinerary. But have you really experienced the culture of a place until you’ve visited some lesser-known spots? The world is full of many unique individuals and communities, creating products and experiences that cannot be found anywhere else. A Jack the Ripper walking tour in London. A café in Naples where you receive a history lesson in coffee before being served amazing pasta, family style. A shop in Athens specializing in jewelry engraved with poetry. If you are visiting a new city or region and want a taste of what makes this place different, how do you find hidden gems such as these?
Travelling in the Time of Covid: My Tour of Italy this January
Imagine this: you are standing in the Stanze of Raphael in the Vatican City. The room is packed wall-to-wall with people. Tour guides are leading groups in every direction. You are trying to hear what your guide is saying above the noise, trying not to get lost in the crowd. This describes the chaotic – yet moving – experience that I had this January; despite the mayhem of Covid, no picture could ever do justice to the colours in the Sistine Chapel. Before the pandemic, anyone would jump at the opportunity to travel to Rome. Nowadays, just the thought of being in an enclosed space with a multitude of people makes everyone nervous. However, when I toured the Vatican, everyone present had to show proof of vaccination at the front door and wear a mask for the duration of their visit. It was actually a relatively safe experience, and there was something oddly liberating about being in a crowded room and yet knowing that my chances of getting Covid were still low.
All the World's a Stage, but Oregon is Your Next Theatre Destination
Unless, like me, you are from Northern California, you are unlikely to have heard of Ashland, Oregon — a trove of art, cuisine and nature tucked away in a setting that recalls Shakespeare’s Forest of Arden. Dining on the patio of Greenleaf café with a canopy of leaves above and the sound of the rushing creek below, all that’s missing is for a man I’ve only known for a few days to appear and declare his love for me. Ashland is a mix of a bohemian and Renaissance paradise, with its thriving artistic community and numerous one-of-a-kind businesses. It is a relief to escape the Californian heat to relax in the shade and greenery, visit a few art galleries and see one of the shows put on by the Tony-award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF).
OSF is one of the oldest professional non-profit theatre companies in the United States. Founded by Angus L. Bowmer, a young teacher at what is now Southern Oregon University, OSF opened with a production of Twelfth Night in 1935. Today people flock to Ashland to experience the renowned theatre and the artistic milieu.
OSF is one of the oldest professional non-profit theatre companies in the United States. Founded by Angus L. Bowmer, a young teacher at what is now Southern Oregon University, OSF opened with a production of Twelfth Night in 1935. Today people flock to Ashland to experience the renowned theatre and the artistic milieu.
Uncomfortable Oxford: Hidden Histories Tour
The statue of Dorothy Wadham at Wadham College is the only statue of a woman who is not a religious figure or royalty in Oxford. In the early 1600s, Wadham used her late husband’s fortune to build the college, patronage being one of the only ways women involved themselves with the university.
I know it will come as a huge shock to everyone that history has primarily celebrated the accomplishments of straight white men, especially Oxonian history. However, local students and academics are working to bring to light the legacy of discrimination, imperialism, and inequality in Oxford.
Uncomfortable Oxford is an organisation that employs Oxford University students to lead walking tours and educate people about the town’s uncomfortable history. The organisation also highlights those whose accomplishments have been overlooked.
I know it will come as a huge shock to everyone that history has primarily celebrated the accomplishments of straight white men, especially Oxonian history. However, local students and academics are working to bring to light the legacy of discrimination, imperialism, and inequality in Oxford.
Uncomfortable Oxford is an organisation that employs Oxford University students to lead walking tours and educate people about the town’s uncomfortable history. The organisation also highlights those whose accomplishments have been overlooked.
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