A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Wilton’s Music Hall

Published on June 30, 2018June 30, 2018 by LizLeave a comment

You know it’s officially summer when A Midsummer Night’s Dream comes to town. Like A Christmas Carol in December, it seems like every year brings us at least one new production of Shakespeare’s comedy, and it’s easy to give in to Dream fatigue and assume the play can’t possibly have anything original left to say.

The Faction have taken this on board with their stripped back production, and director Mark Leipacher keeps things simple so that the focus returns to the original text without the distraction of elaborate new interpretations. By having so little in the way of set or costumes – all the characters wear modern everyday clothes, and the only nod to the Athenian setting is the orb of the moon which hangs above the stage – we’re able to see the story through fresh eyes and draw new conclusions as to what it’s all about. Personally, I picked up on several themes and textual elements that I’d never considered before in 20 years of seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed; it’s both refreshing and exciting to see such a well-worn classic through fresh eyes.

Having said all that, ironically you do need to know the play reasonably well to keep up with the complex and fast-moving plot – particularly as the multi-roling cast can change character in the blink of an eye, without any change of costume and often without even leaving the stage. For the most part the versatility of the actors means this works well, but there are some moments where scenes blur together and it takes a while to unpick who’s now playing who. (On the plus side, doubling up the roles does mean that the Mechanicals get to conclude the show and perform their gloriously terrible Pyramus and Thisbe uninterrupted by the mocking taunts of the newly-weds.)

Given the treatment of women in the play (and – let’s be honest – most of Shakespeare’s plays), it’s good to quickly see some strong female leads emerge. Tamarin McGinley doubles as Hippolyta, who might be marrying Theseus (Herb Cuanalo) against her will but has no intention of entering the union meekly, and Titania, who refuses to give up her page to Oberon despite all his threats. Meanwhile Lowri Izzard’s Hermia risks everything to avoid her own arranged marriage, and fiercely defends her virtue even against the man she’s just eloped with, insisting that Lysander (Jeremy Ang Jones) sleep further away from her despite his best efforts to convince her otherwise.

In many ways this is a play of two halves; while Act 1 sets the scene and explores some of the story’s darker themes, Act 2 is pretty much wall-to-wall laughs, with Laura Evelyn’s bewildered Helena, Christopher Hughes’ hilariously over-the-top Bottom and Christopher York’s self-conscious Snout (a.k.a. The Wall) stealing the show. The whole cast display great physicality throughout – the lovers’ fight is a particular highlight, as is the moment Linda Marlowe’s Puck enters on Bottom’s back, her hands raised to create his donkey ears.

If ever we needed proof that Shakespeare can still be relevant to a 21st century audience, we have it in this production. It’s got royal weddings, climate change and honour killings, gender roles, body image and the question of consent, all wrapped up in a joyously entertaining evening with great physical comedy and strong performances from a talented ensemble. It takes some doing to breathe new life into such a well-known text, but The Faction have pulled it off. Dream fatigue – what’s that?

A Midsummer Night’s Dream concludes its run at Wilton’s Music Hall on 30th June. Visit The Faction’s website for details of future productions.

Review: Thisbe at Gerry’s, Stratford East

Published on February 25, 2017January 6, 2018 by Liz1 Comment

It’s reassuring to learn I’m not the only one who finds the end of A Midsummer Night’s Dream vaguely unsatisfying. You know, the one where Demetrius wakes up inexplicably in love with Helena, despite having pursued Hermia all night, and nobody bats an eyelid. It may have seemed like a happy ending for all concerned, but to be honest I’ve always felt a bit bad for Helena, married to a man who only loves her because of a magic spell, rather than because of who she is.

Door Ajar Theatre clearly had similar doubts, and so bring us Thisbe, a charming and very funny follow-up to Shakespeare’s comedy. Fourteen years have passed, and Demetrius and Helena’s teenage daughter Thisbe is tired of always coming second place to her mum in her dad’s affections. Desperate to know what happened all those years ago, she ventures into the woods, where she encounters Puck and his fairies – who have lost none of their appetite for chaos. But it turns out love is a much more complicated business than Thisbe realises, and suddenly it’s up to her to save her parents’ marriage… assuming she wants to, that is.

Directed by Roberta Zuric, the show transfers the action to a modern day setting, and is performed by a cast of six talented actor-musicians working together as a seamless ensemble. Rosalind Burt hits exactly the right note as Thisbe, a stroppy yet utterly relatable teenager – though her story may be one of magic, the emotions behind it are all too familiar. Joey Hickman is a hilarious Puck; no longer under Oberon’s thumb, he’s very much the boss in the woods these days, but there’s more than a little of the petulant child in him too.

Anne-Marie Piazza and David Osmond play Thisbe’s bemused parents, quoting Shakespeare in moments of high tension, and – in one of my favourite scenes – regressing fourteen years and getting into a fight with an equally bewildered Hermia (played by the show’s writer, Samantha Sutherland). Meanwhile, the show is BSL interpreted by Jennifer Wilson, who also narrates and plays one of the conflicting voices in Thisbe’s head; and because she’s not only there to sign but as an active member of the cast, the BSL feels very naturally integrated and is a welcome addition to the show rather than a distraction.

At just 75 minutes, the show moves very fast, with cast members switching roles in the blink of an eye (and the change of a hat), playing a variety of instruments – not just on the catchy, toe-tapping musical numbers, but to create sound effects too – and constantly rearranging the set as the action changes location. This is a very physical show, which requires its cast to be on the move (and in the right place) throughout, and they all throw themselves energetically into the action without missing a beat.

There are, as you might expect, plenty of witty and well-placed references to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but the plot of Thisbe necessarily allows for a handy synopsis – “what happened in the woods…?” – so that any audience members who might not be aware of the characters’ backstory don’t miss out.

I don’t know if Thisbe is the sequel Shakespeare would have come up with, but it certainly answers a few of my questions – and it’s also a really entertaining story in its own right. Funny, relevant and beautifully performed, this is an exciting debut from Door Ajar Theatre; let’s hope we see a lot more of them in the future.

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Review: The Mechanicals’ Twelfth Night at St Giles in the Fields

Published on December 17, 2016July 22, 2018 by LizLeave a comment

I last saw Scena Mundi Theatre Company performing Twelfth Night at the stunning French Protestant Church in Soho Square earlier this year. This week they were back, in an equally beautiful venue, with a one night only performance of the same play… but a very different adaptation.

Billed as ‘the new masters of concise classics’, the Scena Mundi Mechanicals specialise in short versions of Shakespeare’s plays, inspired by the memorable amateur actors of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s an intriguing and clever concept, which makes Shakespeare’s work very accessible and adds an original twist to a play many of us will have seen a good few times before. As the four actors – Masters Phil, Jack, Ned and Martin – divide up the roles between them, the stage is set for chaos and comedy, featuring a bearded lady, a dodgy wig, floating hats, and of course yellow stockings.

Given the complex storyline of Twelfth Night, director Cecilia Dorland has done well to cut the script down to almost exactly an hour in a way that still makes sense, and leaves us with a whistle-stop tour of all the key points and characters (well, almost – we’re forced to lose Maria, with Sir Toby Belch taking her place as the architect of Malvolio’s downfall). The performance too, with all its swift costume and character changes, is very skilfully executed by the four-man cast of Pip Brignall, Jack Christie, Edward Fisher and Martin Prest, with nicely understated musical support from flautist Emma Hall.

In fact if anything it’s a bit too well executed – the Mechanicals concept is introduced at the beginning but then seems largely forgotten during the play itself, and though there’s the occasional missing prop or actor’s tantrum, the production on the whole is extremely polished. It feels odd to complain that the acting in a play is too good, but what makes the Midsummer Night’s Dream Mechanicals fun to watch is the fact that their performance is so shambolic, and there’s potential in Scena Mundi’s adaptation for even more well-intentioned mayhem. This band of Mechanicals never get their lines wrong, forget which part they’re playing, or stop the performance to explain to the audience what’s going on; the director never has to intervene, and aside from one brief exchange at the beginning of the show, nobody tries to play all the parts. None of which is a bad thing – it just feels like the framing concept could be further developed for maximum comedy value.

scena-mundi-mechanicals-twelfth-night-rehearsals-091 — Photo credit: Jim Templeton-Cross

All that said, this is already a highly original and entertaining production of a classic play. As a bite-sized introduction to Twelfth Night, it’s perfect for newcomers to Shakespeare, who might find the usual two-and-a-half or even three-hour stretch a bit much to take. And let’s be honest, it’s always fun to watch good actors acting badly. This one-off performance was the first in a series of events at St Giles in the Fields to launch Scena Mundi’s 2017 season, and I look forward to seeing more of them in the coming months.

Can’t see the map on iPhone? Try turning your phone to landscape and that should sort it. I don’t know why but I’m working on it… 😉