'A Midsummer Night's Dream' has always been one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, the story is complicated thoughts lots of fun and charming and the characters and dialogue are iconic. Am familiar with a good deal of Adrian Noble's theatre and operatic work (i.e. His Metropolitan Opera production of Verdi's 'Macbeth') and while he had some puzzling staging touches there are plenty of interesting ones. The cast are a very talented one, Alex Jennings and Lindsay Duncan being the best known to me.
This production turned out to be very good. Not everything works and neither does every staging touch. It is however visually striking, entertaining, creative and beautifully performed. It may not be one's idea of a traditional production, but many non-traditional productions of Shakespeare (as well as theatre and opera productions in general) have worked surprisingly well, and this production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' while not one of the best examples is one such production.
Beginning with the not so good things, count me in as one of those that didn't care for the presence of the boy. Didn't see the point of him and it felt like a distracting gimmick that confused the storytelling a bit.
Some of the effects are a little on the cheap side.
Generally however the production looks good visually, the more mystical parts really enchant and the darker hues fit well. Not lavish but also not amateurish and the production is shot with intimacy yet opened up enough to avoid being claustrophobic. The music has a nice atmosphere and Shakespeare's dialogue typically sparkles in the comedy and the emotion. The comedy is genuinely funny and isn't overplayed but the charming heart of the play is also intact.
While not a traditional production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', the production is true in spirit to it and does better than most non-traditional productions of anything with complicated stories at being coherent. Only the touch with the boy perplexed. The staging is mostly clever and imaginative, the human court and fairy court parrallel being especially ingenious, without falling into distaste or convolution. The performances are committed and very high quality, especially Finbar Lynch and Desmond Barritt clearly having the time of their lives.
Overall, very good and lots of fun. 8/10.
This production turned out to be very good. Not everything works and neither does every staging touch. It is however visually striking, entertaining, creative and beautifully performed. It may not be one's idea of a traditional production, but many non-traditional productions of Shakespeare (as well as theatre and opera productions in general) have worked surprisingly well, and this production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' while not one of the best examples is one such production.
Beginning with the not so good things, count me in as one of those that didn't care for the presence of the boy. Didn't see the point of him and it felt like a distracting gimmick that confused the storytelling a bit.
Some of the effects are a little on the cheap side.
Generally however the production looks good visually, the more mystical parts really enchant and the darker hues fit well. Not lavish but also not amateurish and the production is shot with intimacy yet opened up enough to avoid being claustrophobic. The music has a nice atmosphere and Shakespeare's dialogue typically sparkles in the comedy and the emotion. The comedy is genuinely funny and isn't overplayed but the charming heart of the play is also intact.
While not a traditional production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', the production is true in spirit to it and does better than most non-traditional productions of anything with complicated stories at being coherent. Only the touch with the boy perplexed. The staging is mostly clever and imaginative, the human court and fairy court parrallel being especially ingenious, without falling into distaste or convolution. The performances are committed and very high quality, especially Finbar Lynch and Desmond Barritt clearly having the time of their lives.
Overall, very good and lots of fun. 8/10.