The Dream

Director Peter Evans effectively strips the Midsummer out of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, appropriately rebranding the result The Dream. Anything that was lush, green, flamboyant, long-winded, flowery, tenuous or over-the-top has got the chop, giving a feel that if not actually black certainly gives emphasis to darkness and nuances of mystery and mood that you don’t always see in a Midsummer production. This effect is heightened by judicious restructuring. The final piece has a neat symmetry, with the comedic sections interwoven with the more somber scenes. The decision to begin and end with the farce of the Mechanicals gives a tight, well-rounded and satisfying feel.

The economy extends to the casting; all the players but one take on two or more contrasting roles. Richard Piper’s appropriately bombastic Bottom dominates the first scene, while his frightening and stern Egeus commands the second, roaring monstrous options for Hermia’s future. Nikki  Shiels’ Helena has a quiet dignity to her, coming over as far less of a wet rag than she is often played (although the spaniel line is as cringe-worthy as ever). Johnny Carr’s Demetrius is slimy and predatory towards Lucy Honigman’s strong and feisty Hermia. Like the production, the characterisation is pared back of whimsical elements to bring out depths.

The most surprising treatment of the characters is Puck, played by Julie Forsyth. This Puck could have come out of a Les Misérables tavern or Dickens’ London, an essentially good-natured older lady guttersnipe. No flighty fairy bouncing on haunches—she ambles, sometimes painfully, from target to target, screeching in gravelly mirth when she sees the results. She may do Oberon’s bidding, but grudgingly.

Even the scene changes are interesting, being frantic, lit and noisy as chairs and tables are thrust into place. Character changes are instantaneous with coats donned or shed and instantly altered posture and expression. Recent Bell productions seem to have been choosing non-specific modern costuming, perhaps to avoid what has now become a cliché of a specific anachronous setting, and here it works well with the general theme.

The set provides a structure for vertical movement in the form of the hulk of wrecked ship. It looks far less sturdy than it must be, since the cast climb up, over and through the planks. It works with the lighting to creating ominous jagged shadows when it is lit from various angles.

Altogether this significant rework makes for a captivating production that doesn’t flag for a second, which will appeal to viewers of all ages.

Cathy Bannister

Photographer: Lisa Tomasetti.