Of Shrek and Shakespeare

I have been a busy bee these past few days! Lots of lovely social events and activities going on... After seeing Toy Story 3, I went to see Shrek Forever After in 3D at the cinema. I adore the Shrek films - actually, let me clarify that, I loved Shrek and Shrek 2. I did not really enjoy or even remember Shrek the Third. Did anyone?? This last film, supposedly 'The Final Chapter' was actually very enjoyable but not as good as the first 2 films.

It does strike me as a bit odd that something so successful can then be so rubbish. I do find that very rarely do sequels live up to the first film. It's silly that people rush things to capitalise on success but then produce something that is disappointing to the fans. While I hate this, I also admire those who go out at the top - instead of stretching something good and successful into something bad, they leave at the peak, leaving the fans wanting more. For example, there apparently won't be any more series of Flight of the Conchords or Gavin and Stacey and these are great shows. Very sad that there won't be any further shows but at least I'll remember them in all their glory instead of thinking, What happened to that show? Why did it go all downhill for them?

I think they could have left out the third Shrek film and perhaps incorporated some of that into this last film, making it even funnier. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it but it wasn't up to the standard of the earlier films. If I really had to choose, I think I liked Toy Story 3 better than this film.

So was this just a week of being childish and watching animated films? No! I managed to get tickets for the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and went to see The Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare. I have always wanted to go to the Open Air Theatre but in previous years I'd been too late to book it. It was magical. Absolutely awesome.

I'd been so worried that it was going to rain but luckily the gods were smiling down on me and the skies stayed dry. I went with Mr Special and it was such a romantic date, I really couldn't have asked for more. We went and had a picnic in the park before the show, with plenty of champagne - yum! The performance itself was great, really funny. It wasn't a play that I was overly familiar with but I'd read up on it before going so I knew the storyline. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will check out what other shows they are putting on.

The transformation from light to dark while watching the play unfold is lovely. It's so different from a regular show in a theatre. Tickets are comparable to a real theatre but trust me, this is a totally different experience. And if you like going to see plays and stuff like that, then you should go along at least once :-) I'm sure if it had rained or something then I wouldn't be so enthusiastic about it but for me, it was perfect.