Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream                       Stone Revellers          September 2015

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of the more popular Shakespeare comedies, continues to delight audiences. The play follows the adventures of four young Athenians and troupe of amateur actors manipulated by a group of fairies, who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. Love potions, a donkey, fairy magic and mischief all lead to some very funny moments in this magical story.

A well-crafted stage greeted the audience as they arrived for Stone Revellers production of this widely performed Shakespeare play. The hall had been transformed with foliage and fairy lights and the atmosphere created was quite magical. The expanse of stage worked perfectly for the different scenes with various levels and entrances to create interest and flow. The addition of some well-chosen music added to the overall performance, helping transport the audience to a different ‘world’. The lighting was simple but adequate and the sound was good. The costumes suited the overall style of the production.

The four Athenians created great characters, all different but complementing one another brilliantly. The struggle between Demetrius and Lysander, when they both found themselves in love with Helena, was fantastically portrayed and very funny. Helena (Helene Sandy) squeezed every ounce of humour out of her part and did it to great effect.

Oberon (Tom Waldron) commanded the stage and delivered a great performance. He was very watchable and appeared confident and at ease with the language of the play. Well done.

Titania (Bethany Harrison) had a lovely stage presence but I would have liked to have seen her more feisty side.

The troupe of actors worked well together, each bringing their own humour to the part. Bottom (Dave Bryan) was a delight to watch and, like Oberon, knew what the audience needed to hear and how to make it both understandable and enjoyable.

Puck’s physicality was great, bouncing around the stage and showing the mischievous side of the character. Be careful however that the physical doesn’t distract or impede the delivery of dialogue.

Overall I really enjoyed my afternoon in the forest with this feast of characters. The directors did a great job in making the play accessible to all audience members whatever their previous experience of Shakespeare.

Congratulations to all involved in this production.

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