Editorial: Great Bason Fair showed potential of our gardens

Mark Dawson, Editor of Wanganui Chronicle

THE BASON Botanic Gardens has just enjoyed one of its biggest weekends. The Elizabethan-themed festival on Sunday - dubbed the Great Bason Fair - attracted more than 1500 people, while outdoor performances of the Scottish play on Thursday, Friday and Saturday pulled in an estimated 1000 al-fresco theatre-goers.

The weekend highlighted the the beautiful setting the gardens offer and also the venue's potential for more such events.

I have always thought this beautiful attraction was rather under-utilised and had not fully realised its possibilities as a venue. These past few days surely point the way forward and open up further opportunities.

Of course, there is an awful lot of hard work that needs to be done to create such occasions, and credit must go to the gardens trust and also to the dedicated team who brought us Shakespeare in the Park in such magnificent style.

We know of the capabilities of the Wanganui Repertory Theatre and Amdram and their many excellent productions, but here were some new names and faces treading the boards - or greensward, in this case.

Accolades must go to director Karen Craig for pulling it all together so magnificently - and cast and crew take a bow. Andrew Fawcett as Macbeth was most impressive - and not just for the fact he could remember so many lines - and he was well supported by Rachel Plank as Lady Macbeth and the rest of the actors. The gardens provided a great environment for the outdoor theatricals and the performers did their setting justice. Let us hope Shakespeare will be back in this fine park.

It may be that it is "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" - but it was wonderful all the same.