A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
By William Shakespeare. TheatreiNQ. Directed by Terri Brabon. Queen’s Gardens, Townsville, Queensland. 12 to 24 September 2017

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is probably one of the most loved and most performed of all Shakespeare’s comedies and as a result receives many interpretations. But this is probably one of the freshest and funniest versions you will ever see.

Directed by Terri Brabon for her Townsville-based  ompany, TheatreiNQ, it is the annual Shakespeare Under the Stars presentation, and each successive year the productions seems eclipse its predecessors to such a point that it may be hard to pinpoint the pinnacle of success.

But this success starts at grassroots level with a group of passionate actors, technicians and support staff who are the backbone of this plucky theatre company which has had enormous sell-out successes this year with works as diverse as Frankenstein and Alice in Wonderland. And this is bound to follow in those capacity crowd footsteps.

In fact there was nothing “traditional” about this production – apart from the obligatory Mendelssohn Wedding March – for the rest it was a pure combined richness of talent, craft, direction and performance.

In every Shakespearean production Brabon undertakes, she is at great pains to create an eclectic world that is at once accessible and credible, and even though Dream is given to flights of fairy fancy, we were soon engrossed in this world of make-believe which can only be described as unbridled hilarity from beginning to end. We were taken on a journey to a fanciful world of love, mistaken identities, magic and everyone being in love with everyone else – typical of Shakespearean comedies.  

It is always interesting to see how productions handle the magic element of this play, and of course movies have spoilt this illusion for us. However, the accompanying sound effects were perfectly choreographed and the theatrical devices employed were simple but effective.

However, the true “star” of the production was the wonderful ensemble and the feeling of complete unity that exudes every minute of the performance. This makes it difficult to single out any particular actor. Instead, we appreciate the individual comic timing, comic nuances and sheer talent of those before us. And there was plenty of it as the actors relished every funny, lusty or bawdy moment.

Particularly bawdy was Brendan O’Connor who is a wicked, naughty, anachronistic and thoroughly delightful Puck. His athleticism as the “shrewd and knavish sprite” had me wondering whether he would suffer that night, but what was astonishing was his vocal range. Terri Brabon’s lascivious take on Titania, Queen of the Fairies, was a joy. No tripping daintily across the stage as her character’s name and title would suggest. Not she - instead, we had a joyously lustful woman – and the funniest version of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” one is ever likely to encounter.

However, one particular standout in this wonderful ensemble was undoubtedly Rachel Nutchey as Helena. Clearly the audience too appreciated each comic nuance of her portrayal of her as a gawky asthmatic.

For the rest, one can just but name some hilarious highlights: John Goodson was hugely funny as Bottom; Sally McCutcheon a scene-stealer as Egeus (or should that be Egea?); Robert Street’s gay Peter Quince and the entire cast of “actors” in the “Pyramus and Thisbe” scene – presented hysterically as characters from The Wizard of Oz.

And to end an evening of hilarity – what better than the entire cast performing a side-splitting comic Macarena as a finale?  I know, my face was sore from laughing by the end.

Trevor Keeling

Photographer: Chrissie Maguire

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