The Winter's Tale play contains one of the most famous Shakespearean stage directions: "Exit, pursued by a bear", presaging the offstage death of Antigonus. It is not known whether Shakespeare used a real bear from the London bear-pits, or an actor in bear costume. The Royal Shakespeare Company, in one production of this play, used a large sheet of silk which moved and created shapes, to symbolise both the bear and the gale in which Antigonus is travelling. One comic moment in the play deals with a servant not realising that poetry featuring references to dildos is vulgar, presumably from not knowing what
Topless (stage play) Topless (stage play) Topless is a one-woman stage play by Miles Tredinnick. It is set on an open-top sightseeing bus and features tour guide Sandie revealing her personal life whilst pointing out the London sights. The play, produced by The Big Bus Company, ran for two seasons in London, firstly in 1999 (directed by Martin Bailey) and then in 2000 (directed by Miles Tredinnick). The role of Sandie was played by three actresses: Rachael Carter, Alexandra Moses and Serena Hanson. Although the play was written to be performed in theatres, the original production was actually performed on the open-top of