Archive content
This is a text-only version of an article first published on Tuesday, 22 March 2016. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
"ALL the world's a stage" was the theme for the 2016 Bloxham Festival of Faith and Literature, marking the 400th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare. The Festival - which takes place in the north Oxfordshire village of Bloxham, just outside Banbury - was the fourth and the biggest yet.
The brainchild of Sir Tony Baldry, former Second Church Estates Commissioner and until recently MP for north Oxfordshire, the festival started in 2011 in St Mary's Church, and has since expanded at a rapid rate.
This year saw a programme of 31 events, and sales of around 2,400 tickets. The Bloxham Festival, which was sponsored this year by Ripon College, Cuddesdon and publisher SPCK for the first time, as well as the Church Times, is a literary festival with a theological slant. Speakers included the TV historian Michael Wood whose acclaimed series on China was recently on BBC Two.
Professor Wood shared a stage with another distinguished Professor - Stanley Wells, a world famous expert on Shakespeare, talking about Shakespeare's friends, family, his neighbours and rivals. Other speakers included the novelist Salley Vickers (author of Miss Garnet's Angel and The Cleaner of Chartres, amongst other titles); broadcaster and former Communard the Revd Richard Coles, who presents Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4, and the retired judge, Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss.
While some of the sessions had a distinctly Shakespearean flavour, others simply addressed big themes that were reflected in his plays, such as mercy, forgiveness and love. An episode of the BBC Radio 4 programme, Beyond Belief, which examines the place of faith in today's world, was recorded in front of a live Festival audience. A number of the speakers were local, including Canon David Winter, who spoke about his latest book, At the End of the Day: Enjoying Life in the Departure Lounge, and Archdeacon Martin, who led a walking tour aroundStratford-upon-Avon, where he was previously the Vicar.
Other familiar faces included the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, the former Bishop of Reading, who spoke about the Psalms, Bishop John, who chaired a number of sessions, the Very Revd Prof Martyn Percy, the Dean of Christ Church, and the Revd Canon Angela Tilby. On the Saturday evening audiences had the chance to enjoy performances by local favourites, the North Cotswold Chamber Choir, and the Shakespeare Revue Company, who presented their show An Actor's Life to great acclaim.
The Sunday included a Festival Eucharist, tea and Songs of Praise at St Mary's Church. Sarah Meyrick, the Festival Director, said: "We had a really varied programme this year, and I think it was our best yet.
"The Festival owes a great debt to the parishioners at St Mary's who work so hard to support the Festival by selling tickets, providing stewards and even hosting speakers in their homes. "