The latest production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is showing at the Bridge Theatre on London’s South Bank.

Based in Athens, the play, has several scenarios intertwine with each other. The theme takes place around the marriage of Duke Theseus to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.  

In the dream, Theseus also plays the part of Oberon, King of the Fairies and Hippolyta, his Queen Titania. Hermia loves Lysander, who returns her love, but her father wants her to marry Demetrius whom he feels is more suitable. However, Hermia’s best friend Helena, loves Demetrius, and although she pursues him, he isn’t interested. 

Meanwhile, a group of people are practising a play to perform at the marriage. One of the cast Emmanuel Akwafo is Bottom who steals the show particularly when transferred into an ass, becomes the love interest of Oberon. 

Helena standing between Lysander and Demetrius c. Manuel Harlan

In the dream Oberon has quarrelled with Titania and in a change to the original, Titania rather than Oberon instructs Puck to fetch a purple flower with juice that makes whoever is anointed with it, fall in love with the next person they see. Puck has fun impregnating Lysander as well as Oberon which causes a lot of friction and shenanigans. 

Bottom as a donkey with the fairies c. Manuel Harlan

 The choreography in the form of aerobics is spectacular, performed on swings hanging from the rafters. Puck is dressed in black while the fairies have colourful costumes.  

Fortunately, at the end everything is put to right, and all the lovers are reunited to their rightful partners and join Theseus and Hippolyta at their wedding festivities. 

Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Bridge c. Manuel Harlan

 The Bridge’s innovative design and construction provides a flexible auditorium which is capable of different configurations and formats, and provides audiences with excellent views, comfort and close-up connection to the actors.

In Midsummer Night’s Dream, the audience is wrapped around the auditorium with the action taking place in the middle. Standing visitors are able to participate in the frivolities, particularly at the end when the marriage festivities encourage everyone at the wedding, which are, to dance. 

Verdict 

Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Nicholas Hytner is a memorable comedy with lot of laughs.  The location of the Bridge Theatre is particularly special, situated on the banks of the River Thames immediately opposite the floodlit Tower of London which is spectacular. 

Need to know

• On until 20 August.
• The performance is 2 hours 40 minutes with a 20-minute interval. 
• Monday – Saturday 7.30pm.  Thursday and Saturday 2.30pm 
  Captioned Performance:    Friday, 18 July at 7.30pm 
• Audio described and touch tour:   Saturday, 2 August at 2.30pm 

Check availability or buy your tickets
Bridgetheatre.co.uk, 3 Potters Fields Park, London SE1 2SG. Close to London Bridge tube and main line stations. Choice of both seated tickets which wrap around the stage or standing where you are part of the production. 

The post Reimagined and great fun – A Midsummer Night’s Dream reviewed appeared first on The Travel Magazine.

Sixty years ago, the Aral Sea was the fourth-largest lake in the world. Now, it has shrunk to just 10 per cent of its original size, a bitter reminder of one of the 20th century’s worst man-made environmental disasters.

But the Republic of Karakalpakstan in the northwestern portion of Uzbekistan, where much of the surviving sea lies, is determined to help tourists understand the story and the beauty of the Aral Sea, and to support the resilient communities still living around the former seashore.

The region offers far more than disaster tourism: these are my five reasons you should visit the Aral Sea whilst there is still water to see.

Rare Desert Wildlife

The Aralkum – the world’s newest desert – has formed in the former seabed of the Aral Sea. Although at first glance it looks barren, that’s far from the truth: there are many different species of desert flora and fauna, including the Bactrian camels for which are icons of the ancient Silk Roads.

Bactrian camel – icon of the ancient Silk Roads

Fighting their way back from the brink of extinction are saiga antelope, helped by the Saiga Conservation Alliance. These large mammals with droopy snouts – perfectly suited to the dusty desert environment – live mostly in the Saigachy Reserve on the Aral Sea’s western shore, and on Resurrection Island, to the east.

Further south, you’re more likely to see and hear signs of wolves and jackals, hares, and small rodents. There are Central Asian tortoises, Brandt’s hedgehogs, and corsac foxes, too.

Birders will be in their element, as the Aral Sea, its supporting lakes and wetlands, and the Amu Darya are vital nesting spots for migratory birds.

The flamboyance of flamingos at Sudochye never ceases to delight, and there are plenty of birds of prey swooping and soaring along the cliffs on the edge of the Ustyurt Plateau. 

Environmental Education

Travel to the Aral Sea is an educational experience, and one would hope that learning about the water mismanagement which caused the shrinking of the Aral Sea would encourage more responsible environmental behaviour in the future.

But the disaster is only one part of the story. Just as interesting is how scientists are greening the desert and preventing dust storms with the planting of drought-resistant saxaul bushes.

The growing saiga population is a triumphant success story for conservationists. And local knowledge of native species – from artemia (brine shrimp, also known as sea monkeys) to liquorice – is leading to new economic opportunities.

Exploring the Aral Sea region is an opportunity to widen your understanding of how many different issues intersect in complex, fragile ecosystems. 

Aral Canyons

Large bodies of water have their own beauty and drama, but even more so when there is such a contrast with their surroundings. Driving across Karakalpakstan from the capital, Nukus, via the former port city of Muynak to the Aral Sea, the miles of desert seem endless. But then, just as you think you must be approaching the end of the world, there is the sea, glittering in bright, hot sunshine. 

Aral canyons – rock formations along the edge of the Ustyurt Plateau

As the sea water has retreated, the cliffs that once dropped into the Aral Sea now loom alone. No waves crash at their base, so they seem even larger than before. The rock formations along the edge of the Ustyurt Plateau are often referred to as the Aral Canyons, and though “canyon” is a misnomer here, it does give you a sense of what to expect.

One day, this landscape and the geology which creates it could be protected and celebrated as part of a geopark, but for now, it’s a playground for birds, reptiles, and small mammals, plus an occasional climber or photographer.

Stay in a yurt

Until the early 20th century, the Karakalpak people, after whom Karakalpakstan takes its name, were semi-nomadic. Many of them lived in yurts around the Aral Sea, fishing and hunting in the marshes. Although this traditional way of life has been lost, Karakalpaks remain proud of their distinct cultural identity.

Yurt camp, Aral Sea

The easiest way to immerse yourself in Karakalpak culture is to spend a night in a yurt, a portable felt tent which was a family’s home for much of the year.

The Aral Sea Yurt Camp is on a cliff top overlooking the sea, an incomparable location for a sunset beer and close enough to the water for a sunrise swim. All the yurts are decorated with colourful, hand-woven straps and wool tassels. 

Local cuisine reflects Karakalpaks’ nomadic heritage and location, too. Plov may be the national dish of Uzbekistan, but in Muynak it is cooked with fish rather than beef or lamb, making it akin to Spanish paella. Equally tasty is Júweri gúrtik, sorghum flour pasta topped with meat, onions, potatoes, and carrots.  

An opportunity to swim in the Aral Sea before it disappears

There are not many people in the world who can say that they have swum in the Aral Sea, and within most of our lifetimes, that possibility will be completely gone.

Jumping from the jetty and swimming in the salty water is a last chance experience, one to tell your children and grandchildren about. The Aral Sea is so saline that you will float with ease. And as the water is so shallow, it warms up quickly in the hot summer sun. 

You can stand among the skeleton ships in the ghostly harbour at Muynak, run for miles along the cliff tops without another person in sight, and watch murmurations of birds swirling about one thousand islands. The memory of sitting around a campfire in the desert will become ingrained in your heart, as will the dazzling nighttime display of stars. 

Fact box

Fly: Uzbekistan Airways flies direct from London Heathrow and Gatwick to Tashkent, with onward connections to Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan. Return flights from £530. 

Tours: Aral Sea Discovery specialises in jeep tours to the Aral Sea, including yurt stays at the Aral Sea Yurt Camp. Their two-day Eco Tour to the Aral Sea, starting and finishing in Nukus, costs from $185 per person. Contact them with the code #uzambassador.  

Read: Bradt Travel Guides publishes the only full-length guidebook to Karakalpakstan (RRP £19.99).

The post 5 Reasons to visit the Aral Sea, Karakalpakstan – before it’s too late appeared first on The Travel Magazine.

Sitting on something between a hilltop and a clifftop, this is a place with one of the most dramatic views in Wales, if not the whole of Britain. Contemporary, mostly timbered luxury lodges face the Taf Estuary which if you look at one time of day is an inland sea, at another is a drift of sandbanks with streams running through it. The tides are mesmerising – as is the view down the hill/cliff to the Dylan Thomas Boathouse, the tiny cottage where the author of Under Milk Wood lived and wrote (and the wood itself is a short coastal stroll away).

The resort

One of the varied lodge styles, with veranda and rooftop sundeck

A place that continues to grow yet doesn’t seem to. It’s been four years since everything clicked for the former caravan site in this pretty Carmarthenshire spot, lodges in the greensward, others perched on the cliffside. Since then, though, another major development occurred in 2024 with work starting on another 30 or so lodges at the end of the summer season.

The accommodation

The stylish lounge with sea view

The lodges, in five styles, are contemporary rustic… a grey-brown woody feel with decking outside the glass wall of the living area, and often a shaded area for outdoor dining. Most have hot tubs, with views through the glass fencing and some even have a second terrace on the roof, as well as a barbecue. Lodges are two or three bedroom with two bathrooms and all mod cons… cooker, dishwasher, big TV with plenty of stations and even free resort wifi. Many of the newer properties – all individually owned but with matching interior design and furniture which works for the rental market – are higher on the hill but still have views across their neighbours. Places that you could happily live in, and none more than a 10-minute walk to the little supermarket in Laugharne.

View across veranda and hot tub

The facilities

The swimming pool is a window on the world

Simple yet sensational. This isn’t a good-time holiday resort, it’s something subtler and more satisfying. Milk Wood Spa has you relaxing the moment you’re in the door. The infinity swimming pool is indoors but about as outdoors as you can get… lofty ceiling and equally lofty glass walls with the view across the estuary. Décor is mostly slate, with a touch of polished timber, a look that extends to the sauna and steam room, both glass-fronted and both with views across the pool. Through a glass door is a big, slate-lined whirlpool which is in a room with a view but without a glass wall. Needless to say the gym has panoramic views too.

The open-air hot pool is a dramatic setting

The spa uses Ishga organic products made from Hebridean seaweed and features sea-inspired treatments such as Ishga Express Hebridean Sea Salt & Oil Scrub and the Algae Full Body Wrap, as well as massages. The Studio, a self-contained building nearby, features yoga sessions, manicures, pedicures and facials.

On the hill, near a small neolithic mound, is a children’s play area (with a marquee during school holidays) and tennis courts. A farm food shop is on its way.

Eating and drinking

Milk Wood House, a place with sensational views from bar, restaurant and swimming pool

Milk Wood House is the social hub. Milk Wood Bar & Kitchen is both a place to pop in for a drink or for a meal. Both, on the first floor (reception and spa are below), have panoramic estuary views through the glass walls – and there’s a large terrace too, bringing the views even closer. The food from a changing menu has a contemporary world view mixed with Brit classics. Starters include chorizo and black pudding Scotch egg with roasted red pepper ketchup. Mains feature seafood rigatoni, the clams, mussels, cod and prawns a nod to local fishing tradition. There’s also charred minted lamb rump, a selection of steaks and pizza from the wood-fired oven. Milk Wood House is open through the day for coffee and lunch, while a coffee bar opens on the grassy area by the tennis courts and children’s play area.

There’s a cosy tearoom at the Dylan Thomas Boathouse, down the little path to the water’s edge, while Browns, several minutes’ walk from the resort gate, is a pub where Thomas used to pop in for a swift one or more, and which is itself now a boutique hotel. A couple of minutes’ walk outside the gate is Brown’s Hotel, a historic spot where Dylan Thomas liked to drink.

Dylan’s echoes

Dylan Boathouse on the path down from the resort

Laugharne is a pretty town, and packed with Dylan Thomas history. A grassy sward runs down to the sea in a little bay just along from the coastal path and there are steps up to the resort. Laugharne Castle is here, two medieval towers amidst ornamental gardens, and where Thomas wrote Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog in the summerhouse. Outside the castle wall is Island House, a 16^th-century stone mansion amid massive renovations to create a boutique hotel, bar and restaurant.

Laugharne’s waterfront castle

The waterfront trail below Dylan Coastal Resort is the 870-mile Wales Coast Path which, to the left, passes through Milk Wood itself, a magical springtime world of snowdrops and wild garlic. On the path, directly below the resort, is the Dylan Thomas Boathouse, the house where he lived and worked from 1949 to 1953. An inland path from the resort’s front gate reaches the cemetery where a painted wooden cross stands at Dylan Thomas’s grave.

Farther afield

Tenby, from the cliffs above North Beach

Pendine Sands, a seven-mile stretch where, in the 1920s, Malcolm Campbell set two Bluebird land speed records, hitting 206mph. Here the futuristic Museum of Land Speed, opened summer 2023, tells the tale (and has Bluebird’s tail) as well as exhibitions on secret weapons testing here and much more.

A little farther is the little beach town of Amroth and just inland Colby Woodland Garden, a National Trust delight with wooded valley walks and a rich walled garden.

Several miles along is the resort town of Saundersfoot, then the bigger town of Tenby with its beaches both big and little, clifftop walks and boat trips to beautifully unspoilt Caldey Island.

How much?

Four nights in a two-bedroom lodge, sleeping four, starts at £419 in January (luxurylodges.com)

You may also like:

• Breathtaking lakes in Wales
• Guide to e-biking in Alyth, Scotland

The post A panoramic look at Wales from Dylan Coastal Resort appeared first on The Travel Magazine.