At last Oberon has the festival it deserves

The Rotary Club of Oberon is proud (and excited and thrilled) to present the first Oberon Shakespeare Festival. We have planned a series of events designed to cater for and appeal to the diverse Oberon community and beyond.

We have engaged acclaimed Shakespearean theatre troupe Come You Spirits and they will be a pivotal part of each event.

Oberon Rotary are funding the festival and most events are free to attend. We’re planning a workshop for the residents at the Columbia Age Care facility; and a workshop and performance for the students at Oberon High School.

The two feature events are the Shakespearean Festival Feast and Performance to be held at The Malachi – 14 March (this is the only ticketed event); and a free full performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Oberon Common on the evening of 15 March. More deatils about both these events will follow soon.

There are some who would ask why Oberon needs a Shakespeare Festival. They might say that Oberon has done quite well for a very long time without one. And they would be right.

Inspired connection

But there is an inspired connection between Oberon (the town) and Shakespeare.

It began when a young Elizabeth Berry, at the age of 22, was transported from Britain to Australia as a convict in 1803. In 1810 she married Charles Whalan (who was the first permanent settler on Fish River Creek and is credited, among other things, with the discovery of Jenolan Caves). In 1863 Elizabeth, at the age of 82, and inspired by the local countryside, took it upon herself to alter a surveyor’s plan for the area. The name ‘Bullock Flats’ was printed on a map that was part of the survey. Elizabeth put a line through that name and wrote the word ‘Oberon’ above it.

It appears that Elizabeth believed that the countryside was a fairyland, and that Oberon, King of the fairies in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ provided a more pleasing name.

So let’s make Shakespeare fun!

Shakespeare was, among other things, a master story teller. Most of his stories, though were retellings, reimagined popular stories of the time, mythical tales, histories. His plays were not, by and large, original tales.

So, what’s going on? What makes Shakespeare so special? If it’s not the stories themselves, what is it? There’s the language, the poetry, of course. Shakespeare’s plays were written for a wide audience and were extremely popular with every level of society at the time. But that beautiful poetic language can be dense and difficult for a modern audience. His works are often perceived as something for elites, highly educated, or something not relevant, something be suffered through at school. This was certainly not the case when the plays were written. So something else must be going on.

It seems that there’s a magic woven through these tales. Something other than the poetic language that has lead people to want to tell and retell these stories for more than 400 years. There can certainly be no doubt that his writings have profoundly effected the way we express ourselves and even the way we tell our own stories.

Revealing the magic

The Shakespearean theatre group ‘Come You Spirits’ promise to reveal the magic of these stories in a fresh and exciting way showcasing the beauty, humour and wisdom of the way they were originally told, but reworking these pieces for a modern audience.

We think it’s going to be fun.

Saturday 15 March 2025

Live at the Oberon Common
A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Acclaimed Shakespearean troupe ‘Come You Spirits’ will perform Shakespeare’s wild adventure comedy ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, live at the Oberon Common. Bring a picnic, a rug or a chair and the family, and be prepared to be transported to a place of myth and magic, love and laughter.

This event is free to attend. You really won’t want to miss this opportunity to see this unique performance.

Though this event is still in the final planning stages, we expect be able to welcome people to the performance space at around 6pm. The show itself runs about 90 minutes. The event should wrap up at around 9:30pm.

The above times may be subject to change. The final schedule will be published here when it’s available.

More details soon.