Food Lovers

Fighting is breaking out at the Said Business School in Oxford every night. Violence erupts in the courtyard with frightening regularity. Blood is shed, hearts are broken, a spell is cast; and onlookers are frozen and spellbound as the drama unfolds, mouths open in surprise, pizza in hand.

Because everything about Romeo and Juliet is hands-on. Forget all your preconceptions about Shakespeare and get down to the Said Business School, next to the station. There, in the amphitheatre, erupts a tragedy that will have you both howling with laughter and weeping copiously into your hanky. You can’t help but be utterly entranced, caught up in the terrible consequences of an innocent first love destroyed by warring families and parental power struggles, a disregard for emotion reminding of us of the strength of adolescent passion. This is Shakespeare in Oxford at its very best.

I’d gone along to review the food of course, an in-house restaurant serving suitably Italian fare before each performance from 6.15pm until the brawling commences at 7.30pm.

But to be honest the menu merely serves as fodder for the cannons, a last supper before you face the music, your Death Row supper lulling you into a false sense of security before the horrifying events enfold and encircle you, leaving no prisoners.

On the night we went we were the only Brits in the audience. A convoy of teenage American students had ambushed the premises, an unruly crowd whose concentration was always going to be hard-earned. And yet hours later when we were ejected shuddering onto Oxford’s streets, they hadn’t uttered a word the whole way through the performance.

But yes, back to the food, I must pay the ferryman. Historically, Creation Theatre Company always feeds its audiences. Go to its Christmas productions at the Mini factory in Cowley and crepes can be ordered and eaten at the tiny tables throughout the performance in the Mirror Tent.

Summer-wise, the weather’s been so awful in recent years that Creation has all but been swept away, but in the early days barbecues were held pre- and mid-performance to keep the punters happy. And now, with an Italian love-story playing out amid Oxford’s dreaming spires, Italian food in a terraced garden seems entirely appropriate. And, as the Said has a canteen for its students as well as a separate cafe bar, the glorious weather forecast for July and August is too good an opportunity to waste. The scenic garden and tables dotted throughout the courtyard, albeit without a balcony, are crying out for food. What’s on offer is fairly rudimentary – meat or vegetarian pizza or penne, with an accompanying side salad. But at £3.50 a pop you can’t complain. Follow with strawberries and cream for a mere £2 and a glass of wine for £3 to £4 or even a celebratory glass of champagne from the bar and soak up the pre-show atmosphere.

But to be honest as soon as the saga unfolds at your very feet, you will forget every last trace of your meal. During the interval, when night has drawn in and they’ve lit the braziers, a fortifying hot chocolate or beer is on hand, but otherwise it’s action all the way.

So judge this review as more of a footnote. The food is a by-product, a culinary warm-up, a way of fending off the hunger pangs until the last act, and is worthwhile for those reasons alone.

* Romeo and Juliet is showing at the Said Business School until September 4.

Details from creationtheatre.

co.uk