By LANA CARBON
NOVEMBER 16TH, 2019
October is, and always has been, our busiest month of the year. We always do our 31 Movies for 31 Days of Hallowe’en (one of which we make sure to see in the cinema). We also try to get in some kind of Hallowe’en type of spooky activity; this changes from year to year but has often consisted of going on a haunted tour, taking a drive to view decorations, and visiting family for our annual pumpkin carve. Add all of this to our regular schedule and it doesn’t leave much time for anything else. So, of course, here is an article of our night at the theatre, on October 17th, to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Pretty random, right?
Photo I took of the promotional poster while in the lobby at the Cineplex.
In a month filled with thoughts of blood and gore, you may not see the immediate connection to National Theatre Live’s production of one of Shakespeare’s most well known comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. With tricks aplenty, the performance is a treat that will have you laughing so hard your sides will hurt as surely as having eaten too much candy on Hallowe’en night.
As the lights dimmed to begin the show, I was a little surprised by the lack of attendance in our theatre. I was expecting a nearly full house but there was hardly anyone there. When we went to see the replay of Hamlet at the same cinema, there were barely any seats available.
Much like that performance of Hamlet that we watched four years ago (Really? It was that long ago?), this was a more modern take on the play while still using the “Olde English” that can be a little difficult to grasp at times. For me, there were two stand-outs in this particular director’s vision; the first of which was the decision to use aerialists to give the illusion of the fairy folk flying in any scenes taking place in their fantastical world. This looked amazing on screen and I can only imagine how much better it must have been in person. The play was presented in-the-round at the Bridge Theatre, so the silks the actors hung from would, at times, be directly over the audience’s heads. On this topic of using aerialists, special praise should go to David Moorst, playing Puck, who was not an aerialist before this production and yet appeared just as accomplished than the others, if not more so. He continued to act brilliantly, delivering his lines while doing tricks in the air on silks, after only three months of training.
The second stand-out for me was the notable change that director, Nicholas Hytner, made by switching some of Oberon and Titania’s lines which lead to some interesting results, especially in today’s world. Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Hunger Games) is the big draw as Queen of the Fairies and did an excellent job playing off her rivalry with Oliver Chris’ (Motherland) Oberon. The young lovers were all performed excellently by Paul Adeyefa (Demetrius), Tessa Bonham Jones (Helena), Isis Hainsworth (Hermia) and Kit Young (Lysander).
A real comical treat came by way of the Rude Mechanicals; the theatre troupe which performed the play within the play. Each member (Flute – Jermaine Freeman, Starveling – Francis Lovehall, Snout – Ami Metcalf, Snug – Jamie-Rose Park, and Quince – Felicity Montagu) was hilarious in their own way. In my opinion, the standout of the group, and perhaps the whole show, was Hammed Animashaun’s Bottom. This was the funniest interpretation of the role I had ever seen and I apparently wasn’t alone in my enjoyment of what was taking place on the screen. The entire theatre crowd (yes, all 15 of us) were laughing hysterically. I glanced over to John and saw her wiping the tears from her eyes since she had been laughing so hard - she later told me that as quickly as she wiped away the tears, more were streaming down her face and she couldn’t keep up. I, myself, was wincing as I held my side and tried to catch my breath. It had been years since I had laughed so exuberantly at anything. This was serendipity… the perfect person in the perfect place at the perfect time in the perfect role. We couldn’t ask for anything better.
Now, like waking from a very pleasant dream, with that euphoric feeling having slowly faded as our minds have slipped back into reality, a smile crosses our faces as we think back and relate to you this wonderful show. If you get the chance, we strongly advise catching one of the replays at your local cinema. You will not be sorry.
