Stuck in the middle with Geoff

The drama teacher at school is planning a school trip to Dundas Castle. In June they do an outdoor play of the life of Jesus.

"Over five days in June the spectacular parkland of Dundas Castle, South Queensferry is transformed into the Holy Land of Biblical times for a dramatic production of the greatest story ever told.

"The audience follows the play through wooded valleys and by the stunning loch as over 100 actors bring the Gospels to life. What is described as Scotland's premier outdoor theatre event makes an enthralling day out for the family as the story unfolds over four hours.

"The age old features of the estate are transformed into breathtaking natural scenery as the lock becomes the sea of Galilee, the old walled garden the city of Jerusalem, and the ice house, Jesus' tomb and the scene of the resurrection."

It sounds fascinating and definitely worth looking into. The audiences are limited to 1500 (!)people per day and the performance lasts most of the day.

The last open air theatre - I was about to correct that and say ONLY open air theatre - but it isn't the only one. The most recent open air theatre I have been to was called Shakespeare in the Park. It was held in the summer in the botanical gardens in Glasgow. It wasn't just Shakespeare either. Joe and I went to see the Canterbury Tales. Having not done English to a high level at school, I am not familiar with them. I found them rather ripe and saucy, or perhaps that is just the way the troupe played them.

In the interval, the cast mixed with the audience who were seated rather uncomfortably on plastic stools. Two of them had a guitar and serenaded members of the audience. They had picked well-known pop songs and re-written the words. They were very funny. Joe got picked on. You can guarantee that in any crowd Joe will be picked on. He has that kind of look about him.

The song was "Stuck in the Middle with you." The line "Jokers to the left of me, jokers to the right of me. Here I am stuck in the middle with you." was re-written to "Shakespeare to the left of you, Shakespeare to the right, but here you are stuck in the middle with Geoff". It was a good night

The other open-air theatre that I have been to is Shakespeare - Macbeth, in an ancient amphitheatre in Cyprus. The atmosphere was awesome.