A Midsummer Night's Dream

There is a danger of over-analyzing a play that, in the context of community theatre, is designed as an entertainment, nothing more; and as an entertainment TAB’s version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream left a smile on the face. This was particularly true of the mechanicals whenever they appeared and also of the nods to modern dance shows at the beginning and end of the play. The fairy troupe, dressed as some sort of Bohemian travellers, comprising the commanding figure of Barry Taylor as Oberon; the rather sexy, I thought, Diane Johnston as Titania; the lithe and youthful Natalie Patuzzo as Puck; and the remaining fairies, deliberately sullen and unresponsive, came across well. The body art, make up and multi-coloured clothes, although modern, nevertheless brought a timeless feel to the whole troupe and one could sense the mischief and malevolence, the latter from Oberon particularly, throughout.

The Athenians, however, seemed less convincing. I understand there is meant to be a difference between the real world and the fairy world but somehow the repressive Athenian environment, that subjugates women and can put them to death if they don’t do as their fathers tell them, seemed at odds with a modern theme in which Theseus dresses like a local civic leader and all the main protagonists were women. The decision to cast women through lack of men was a brave one given the incongruity with the dialogue and plot but one which could have been pushed even further perhaps to exaggerate the change.  In my mind’s eye I could see an all-girls school with the four lovers as schoolgirls, Theseus as headmaster and the mechanicals as groundsmen, caretakers and cleaners. There is no perfect translocation of course and maybe my own fantasies are interfering with the review.

The main point here is that the Athenian lovers had very little frame of reference within which to develop their characters, so that at some point in the evening, probably in the second half when all four lovers were chasing each other in the forest, it became very difficult to differentiate one from another. Had the dramatic stakes been raised even higher because of the same sex relationships involved then perhaps more could have been extracted from the characterisation. This does get difficult since Egeus is clearly favoring one lesbian relationship over another, thus negating the shock value of the actual love pairing. Perhaps if Demetria had pretended to be a man for the initial confrontation in Athens …..?

 The staging in the round, although the best option in a small venue, and very effective visually, did mean that audibility was occasionally compromised. I confirmed with someone on the other side of the auditorium that I was not alone in this view. This was nobody’s fault but does mean that dialogue has to be projected and directed equally around the room.  It also has to be slowed down to some extent so that the audience can process its meaning. I couldn’t fault the fluency of the dialogue but I didn’t always follow it.

Overall this was an enjoyable production and an ambitious one. Despite being regarded as one of the most popular of Shakespeare’s plays and in some ways more accessible to an audience than others because of its visual impact and extended periods of funny dialogue, there are still interesting themes about oppression and women’s rights that are to be explored. I do hope we shall see more Shakespeare at TAB.

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