Today, I’m pleased to be reviewing the latest production at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. I saw a ‘pre-performance’ in a packed auditorium.
Mathew Baynton, of course, was the main drawcard for all those who loved him in ‘Horrible Histories’ and ‘Ghosts’! And I must say that here in this RST production, he was able to prove that his legs are worthy rivals to Simon Farnaby’s (as shown in the character of Julian, the disgraced former MP).
As someone who has seen many productions of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I feel able to make comments! I’ve seen all sorts of Pucks trying various interpretations and poses, including standing on top of the stone arch at Hever Castle; a Hermia with a Liverpudlian accent played by one of the Liver Birds in the Regent’s Park Open Air theatre; a gender-switch Oberon & Titania at the National Theatre, a Bottom with a Dudley accent at the RST, and fairies dancing through the Compton Verney woodlands wearing nothing but green paint (and probably wellington boots!). I also remember fairies who looked like local hoodlums running riot at Kenilworth Castle.
In addition, I’ve made much use of the imagery and significance of Shakespeare’s spirits in my author talks, and have quoted from this play in my own books, so I know some of the famous lines off by heart, and remember how I heard actors performing them before, and the effect they had on me. I’ve also, as a choir member, sung the fairies’ song as part of Mendelssohn’s incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream!
This production is an amazing cornucopia of lighting, special effects, video projection, magical sound effects, music, choreography, and illusion. I loved it when Puck flung out her arms and a glow-worm like light appeared on her hand or at the back of the stage.
The actress who played Puck came over as a wild urchin of the forest. Her movements were those of a naughty, jaunty schoolboy. I never quite believed in her supernatural nature – perhaps she could have darted about more in an unpredictable way, whizzing up the stage ladders & hanging there, dangling halfway up by one leg, disrespectful & insouciant.
The essence of Robin Goodfellow or Puck, is that the sprite is amoral – not amoral as humans can be, but only as a faery can be, because they operate by the faery code, not by human values. I enjoyed the way she delivered, ‘Lord! What fools these mortals be!’ whilst lying prone on the stage as if in despair. I had likewise never heard the line ‘I go. I go. See how I go’ delivered in that way before to Oberon – slow sullen, rebellious, sarcastic.
I was a little surprised at the decision not to include Peaseblossom, Moth, Mustard Seed, and Cobweb on stage but instead portray them as blobs of glowing light, with their words as voiceovers.
I loved Oberon, dressed as he was in a style I thought might be a mixture of steam punk and goth with high heels. I particularly enjoyed his patronising instructions to Puck: ‘Go, seek – out – He- le- na…’ very slowly as if Puck was thick! That worked very well. But I felt he missed out on the comic effect of, ‘What – have – you- done?’ to Puck when he sees the mess Puck has created.
Lysander was brilliant, hugely athletic and very funny with his physical comedy.
The four star crossed lovers were full of energy, but the potential of the line ‘Oh, she was a vixen at school!’ was missed, in that I’ve heard it delivered before with much greater emphasis and comic effect.
Mat Baynton as Bottom was also very comical, and his timing was excellent as he sprang forward to be the first of the rude mechanicals to know best and show himself as the ultimate thespian; and he was particularly good at sudden unexpected changes of tone.
So overall, it’s a fabulous production with many highlights, but not one of the very best I’ve ever seen… however, it was only a pre-performance, so perhaps greater surprises are ahead for this production in the next 6 weeks!
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About the Author
Sheila lives in Warwickshire, and writes psychological, paranormal and mystery fiction and non-fiction under the pen-name SC Skillman. She is a member of the Society of Authors and the Association of Christian Writers. Her non-fiction books on local history are published by Amberley and include ‘Paranormal Warwickshire,’ ‘Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire’; and ‘A-Z of Warwick’. She is now working on ‘Paranormal Gloucestershire’.
She was born and brought up in Orpington, Kent, and has loved writing most of her life. She studied English Literature at Lancaster University, and her first permanent job was as a production secretary with the BBC. Later she lived for nearly five years in Australia before returning to the UK. She has now settled in Warwick with her husband and son, and her daughter currently lives and works in Australia.
scskillman.com 