The Stage

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Published Monday 8 February 2010 at 11:05 by Natalie Anglesey

David Thacker’s award-winning experience as resident director of the RSC proves invaluable in this potentially exhilarating, accessible, although overlong, production of one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays.

In a comedy that’s all about being in love or wishing to be loved, Thacker, currently artistic director of the Bolton Octagon, makes sense of the difficult first act by retaining the Athenian background but setting it in the sixties.

The military junta in control is led by a strong Theseus in Rob Edwards, doubling as Oberon. Paula Jennings, who also plays a sexy Titania, is a vanquished Hippolyta forced into a political marriage, while Rosie Jones as Hermia is also being forced into an arranged marriage.

But this is also the era of free love and when the military propaganda curtain disappears, we’re taken on a magical, mystery tour of a psychedelic Austin Powers playground where the boundaries between the real and fairy worlds magically merge.

There are good performances from Kieran Hill as a bombastic Bottom, Russell Dixon as Peter Quince and Vanessa Kirby as Helena. While Kiruna Stammell is a scene-stealing Starveling and First Fairy.

Musical director Carol Sloman’s sixties sitar music is terrific but unfortunately the actual songs sound less melodic.

But the real problem with this excellent production is the length. There’s almost a surfeit of goodies and too long is spent writhing about in Ashley Shairp’s visually impressive fairyland. However, judicious pruning can easily resolve that problem.

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