The Bard’s Life Comes Alive
In Tours of His Old Haunts

By Barry Webb
Oxford Shakespeare Tours

"Standing along the Thames in the shadow of the Globe Theatre, the sights and sounds of Elizabethan England came alive around me." Such was the reaction of one visitor to a holiday based on the theater of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. In London, the centerpiece is the authentically reconstructed Globe Theatre, with a guided tour and a chance to see a production, complete with the "groundlings," the standing section of the audience.

The first part of the week's tour is based in Oxford, where Shakespeare often stopped on his journeys between London and Stratford-on-Avon. Here, we visit some unexpected  Shakespearean sites: the "painted" bedroom where Shakespeare often slept (now hidden among modern shops), and a courtyard where a very early performance of Hamlet was given. From Oxford, the tour moves to the  peaceful surroundings of the Cotswold Hills, just a few miles from Stratford, where many Shakespearean sites are visited -- his birthplace, his grave, and, of course, the Memorial Theatre. Tours of the theater are available as well as the chance to see a performance.

Throughout the tours experts and those involved with Shakespearean theater (actors/authors/scholars) join to share their expertise. There is usually a private performance for the tour from a pair of professional actors, and an opportunity to visit a scholar and see his personal library. Private visits (for example to Broughton Castle, scene of the filming of much of Shakespeare in Love and home of Lord and Lady Saye and Sele, aunt and uncle of Joseph Fiennes) are arranged wherever possible.

The whole tour is personally guided by a former Oxford University literature tutor who offers informal seminars along the way.

The emphasis is on comfort, (with fine wining and dining), individuality and personal attention, so that special preferences can be accommodated. The tours are thus restricted, wherever possible to between 4-8 guests. Larger groups can be booked by arrangement.