Veggie M.
Yelp
The play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, was positively dreamy. Well acted and engaging, though long (as Shakespeare is wont to be). A strange combination of traditional language and modern elements (clothes, music, balloons). As entertainment, I'd rate the performance 4.5.
My issue is with the venue itself.
We were advised to be there early -- which is fine as folks queue up well in advance. I realized, after getting inside, this was to quickly get a seat at the few picnic tables under the trees. There are tables at the bar & cafe as well, but if you've brought food, you can't sit there. There are also pre-reserved tables. Otherwise, there is nowhere to sit. Which, since you can't actually access your paid-for seat until the inner doors are opened only just prior to the start of the show, one is left to wandering aimlessly amongst the people who knew the deal, and ran ahead to snag tables. The grass is a possibility if you've brought a blanket from home (or you can buy one from them for 30£), though on the evening we attended, it was raining/had rained so everything was wet.
Not many/no vegetarian/vegan options for meals.
The main issue I had was that the seat next to me in the theatre was empty... until a staff person(s) sat down in it. They proceeded to communicate via walkie-talkie and get up/down from their seat throughout the entire performance! People a couple rows ahead and to the side of me were turning around periodically to see what the commotion was; it was that distracting. While they did turn the volume down after we brought it to their attention, it was still audible to me and those immediately adjacent to them; and they still needed to get up/down to let people out of the venue throughout the show. It really affected my ability to focus on and feel immersed in the show.
The venue needs to either give a separate, distanced seat from the audience for their door staff, or they need to disclose that some of the seats are the equivalent to "obstructed view" seats, and discount accordingly.
Otherwise, as I said, had we brought a picnic dinner, snagged a free picnic table, and had different seats inside the theatre, it would have been a lovely evening.
Note: The park outside is beautiful -- the rose garden is stunning & worth arriving with plenty of time to stroll the grounds before entering the venue.