The Stage

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Published Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 12:15 by Lisa Childs

The airy canvas tent, wandering players and the strumming of a ukulele gives the dreamy opulence of a twenties summer garden party.

This theme continues with the masked dandy fairies in tailcoats with cigarette holders and incidental Charleston music.

However, the reasoning behind the combination of the black masks with the lightness of the other costumes and natural setting at Leeds Castle wasn’t entirely clear and did dilute some of the magical colour of the play.

William Mannering as Bottom gave his all as he darted about the grounds, making excellent use of the historic gardens. His characterisation and rapport with the audience was sharp and natural, while allowing for some well delivered touches.

Sally Tatum captured the awkwardness of Helena from her first appearance and her energy and voice showed real insight. The applause after her interpretation of Starveling and his moonshine was certainly well deserved.

Sian Robins-Grace, Chris McGill and Kyle Soller as Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius complete the quartet of lovers. McGill showed off his talents as a confident musician and character actor and Robins-Grace’s performance as Snout and the ‘wall’ was well thought out. Soller gives a convincingly passionate performance as the love-struck Demetrius.

Jason Baughan and Bethan Walker made a good pairing as Oberon and his sexy Puck, like Liza Minnelli’s Sally Bowles. Both were sultry and playful and combined their physical performances with music and singing.

The performance suffered from a lack of volume at times - a hazard of outdoor theatre - and the interpretation was not completely explained, but this was luxury travelling theatre with a compact but well used set with some impressive performances.

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