Webbready

The following entry is presented in whole. This is a review of a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Barbican Centre. As my previous reviews this one is also a bit lacking, but it is my only record of the phenomenal performance I witnessed.

January 22, 2000

This afternoon, at the Barbican, A Midsummer Night’s Dream was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Directed by Michael Boyd, this version of Shakespeare’s play is full of energy and humor, as the play, I assume, was intended to be.

The plot begins with Egeus (played by Geoffrey Whitehead) coming before the duke of Athens (Nicholas Jones) about his daughter, Hermia (Catherine Kanter). Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius (Henry Ian Cusick), her father’s preference, for she is already in love with another suitor, Lysander (Fergus O’Donnell). When the duke informs her that she must marry Demetrius or face the punishment of death or becoming a nun, she and Lysander steal away to the woods. They inform Helena (Hermione Gulliford) of this plan, and she, madly in love with Demetrius, tells him of it. He follows Hermia and Lysander into the forest and Helena follows Demetrius.

However, these four are not in the woods alone; a troupe of workers who are putting on a play rehearse in the woods. Also, the woods are inhabited by fairies, including the quarreling fairy king, Oberon (also played by Nicholas Jones), and queen, Titania (Josette Simon). Oberon orders Puck (Aidan McArdle) to obtain a plant which had the property of making a person fall in love with the first person he or she sees. The madness and mistakes that follow affect all of those living in the woods, bringing along very humorous results.

While at first this play appears to be a modernization due to the modern dress, it is soon revealed that it is only the attire of the actors could be considered modern. Other facets of the production appear one way at the beginning and in the end, are either explained or make sense. For instance, in the first scene, nearly all of the Athenians are wearing coats and snow falls in the background. This is later explained (since it is A Midsummer Night’s Dream) by Titania telling Oberon that their fighting has caused the change in the weather. Also, in the early scenes, the lines of the Athenian youths seems to be forced. They deliver them as if reading them as a poem line by line instead of natural conversation. By contrast, the fairies and the players speak their lines fluently, and in time the strained speech of the young people fades away.

Like other parts of the production, the set seems simple, but it is revealed that there is more than meets the eye. A wooden stage, circular with a wall along the back edge and five doors in the wall at first appears almost inadequate. However, props are either lowered from the ceiling or driven upward from the floor. In the same manner, the fairies make their entrance, reminding the audience that they are supernatural creatures and not humans. Lighting easily heightens the impressions of the scenes, whether a bright spotlight is placed on Helena or a series of balloons with lights on them is suspended from the ceiling.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a highly comical play, whether it be from the antics of Puck to the reactions of the youths upon the enchantment of the plant. I recommend it for anyone looking for a good hearty laugh or two.