A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare – Poltimore House and Gardens, Devon and touring until 3 August. 5☆☆☆☆. Review: Cormac Richards.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare – Poltimore House and Gardens, Devon and touring until 3 August,

5☆☆☆☆. Review: Cormac Richards.

“A delight from beginning to end.”

I have seen many shockingly judged versions of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and the current outdoor touring production by Sun and Moon Theatre Company is not one of them.

This utterly glorious and incredibly funny interpretation is a complete joy. The Company aim to bring Shakespeare to as wide an audience as possible and through their skill and nous they create the most accessible and enjoyable productions for all ages. There is a real art to editing a script to fit performance requirements; gaps in storylines can make them nonsensical and removing characters can be clumsy in their execution. Not so here; keeping the performance time to a little over two hours (including interval), you are hard pressed to see where the joins are; Sun and Moon Theatre Company, work from original texts using Quarto and First Folio scripts and their care in ensuring clarity is obvious for all to see.

The cast of 7 play over 20 characters and the transition between them is carried out with efficiency and without fuss – they work their socks off and the cheer it brings to the audience is potent. This is an hilarious production. The language of Shakespeare is, occasionally, embellished with modern asides and this provides an even stronger bond between audience and actor; in fact the interaction is on-going and is used smartly and to great effective.

The 1925 setting provides an elegant context to the proceedings particularly in the costume department with a lovely array of gowns and with some musical interludes; in fact there is music throughout with renditions of ‘Let’s Misbehave’ one minute and a quick burst of ‘Macarena’ the next!

Performance wise you couldn’t want for better; each actor throws themselves into the action with some wonderful physical comedy, alongside the beautiful clarity of their speaking – no word is lost to the audience ear. Poltimore Gardens is the most perfect venue for this play and offers the actors the chance to get up close and personal with the audience members; it has atmosphere and beauty – no other scenery is necessary.

In the joint roles of Theseus and Oberon, David Johnson has great presence and his guitar playing and singing is a delight throughout. He breathes great humour into the roles - his delivery of Theseus’ lines to Hermia about the threat of a single life as a nun is a case in point. Melissa Niamh Barrett is a strong-willed Hippolyta and shines brightly as Puck; cheeky, incompetent and with a great glint to the eye, this is joyous performing. Sally Naylor has the great double of the statuesque, enticing Titania and the utterly miserable Helena; beautifully contrasted characterisations. Beatrice Savill is equally impressive as the feisty Hermia and, as Snug the Joiner performing the Lion in the play within the play, her funny bones come to the fore. Richard Knox almost made my sides split as the old ham actor Peter Quince (imagine Derek Jacobi or Ian McKellen sending themselves up); intolerant of the shambolic troupe he finds himself with, the hip flask is never far away; comedy gold. Sam Hunter’s matinee idol-like Lysander with a glorious line in bravado contrasts wonderfully with the meek Francis Flute who comes into his own in a stunning white flapper dress as Thisbe. The Lysander/Demetrius fight is glorious – a tug of war with a guitar being particularly comic – and uses as much space in the venue as they can. As Demetrius, Emerson Pike has a self-centred aura – but nothing compares with his brash and loud version of Nick Bottom; played as an American with a touch of the Vaudeville about him, this is a big Bottom and is endlessly funny.

What an ensemble – this is the hallmark of great performance; a Company who work so well together.

Without the normal trappings of a theatre, Sun and Moon let the play do the talking and they do so with élan, with joy and with great insight and invention. This production fulfils everything you want from a theatrical performance and more, serving the writer and the play so well and keeping to their ethos and aims with style and fun. It is a delight from beginning to end.

Cast

Melissa Niamh Barrett – Hippolyta, Robin Starveling, Robin Goodfellow

Sam Hunter – Lysander, Francis Flute, Moth

David Johnson – Theseus, Oberon

Richard Knox – Egeus, Peter Quince, Cobweb

Sally Naylor – Helena, Titania, Philostrate

Emerson Pike – Demetrius, Nick Bottom, Mustardseed

Beatrice Savill – Hermia, Snug, Peaseblossom/Fairy