[This version of A Midsummer Night's Dream runs at 80 minutes without interval. It is condensed by director Diana Thomas from an original by William Shakespeare (1564-1616). The detailed twists of the original plot are described online at eg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Midsummer_Night's_Dream]

In tonight's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Queen Hippolyta (Laura Pradelska) and her husband Duke Theseus of Athens (Gareth Pilkington) preside over an evening of romances and spells. Egeus (Denys Gaskill) wants his daughter Hermia (Shaleen Hudda) to marry Demetrius (Vince Tyler). But Lysander (Scott Jones) fancies Hermia, and Helena (Laura Evelyn) fancies Demetrius.

Meanwhile in the woods, King of the fairies Oberon (Gareth Pilkington) and his wife Queen of the fairies Titania (Laura Pradelska) are having a mild spat over a Boy (Jennifer Skapeti) she's taken under her (fairy) wing who Oberon wants as his apprentice. He gets his imp Puck (Laura Harling) to drop a potion over Titania's eyes while she sleeps to make her fall in love with what she first sees on waking - a donkey called Bottom (Damian Dudkiewicz) (more of whom later). Puck also puts the potion over the four young lovers so that they all love the wrong people. In the end, Oberon and Puck reverse the drugs so that people love the people they should be doing - Helena and Demetrius; Hermia and Lysander; and Titania and Oberon.

At the same time as the main action, some labourers rehearse a play called Pyramus & Thisbe - about star-crossed lovers communicating through a hole in a wall. Philostrate (Denys Gaskill) organises the cast of: Nick Bottom (Damian Dudkiewicz) who plays Pyramus; Peter Quince (Denys Gaskill); Francis Flute (Jennifer Skapeti) who plays Thisbe; Tom Snout who plays the Wall (Michael Chalkley); Snug (Michael Chalkley) who plays a Lion. Puck gives Nick Bottom the head of a donkey, which is what Titania falls in love with. Bottom gets changed back in time for the labourers' play.

The labourers' play is performed in front of all the human characters - Queen Hippolyta & Duke Theseus, Hermia & Lysander; Helena & Demetrius - at a cocktail party to conclude the celebration of the marriage of Hippolyta & Theseus. It also concludes the performance.

This production uses projections of made-up newspaper front pages sensationalising the play's content: newspaper topics include child-trafficking, drugs, sex. It's an interesting set of slides but it's difficult to relate them to the play's content. That's because it is difficult to follow what is going on in the play. The main problem is the 400-year-old language. William Shakespeare may have been a good writer in his time, but without being trained in Shakespearean language, it is hard now to understand what he meant. There are also a lot of twists in the plot which can confuse. Additionally,cutting a much longer play down to a straight run of 80 minutes may be merciful, but it may also have removed some of the explanations. Whatever the reasons, the production is tricky to follow. That's not to say that it isn't enjoyable.

The lively cast present a very entertaining show. It's a bit like a convoluted race track: some (very) slow tortuous and seemingly unending bends; a few chicanes where it looks unlikely that all the plot strands are going to cram their way through and/or survive; and a couple of long straights where the cast can really let rip.

Michael Chalkley gives a warm and engaging performance as Snug / Wall / Lion. Damian Dudkiewicz delivers Bottom / Pyramus at enthusiastic and occasionally deafening volume with a gale-force display of physical theatre techniques. Laura Evelyn delivers Helena as a jolly-hockey-sticks head-girl (with a prodigious ability to deliver fast verse). Denys Gaskill is a commanding and authoritative as Egeus / Quince / Philostrate. Shaleen Hudda presents Hermia as convincingly emotional. Scott Jones gives a raunchy edge to randy Lysander. Vince Tyler catches the nuances of Demetrius's 180-degree-turning passions.

[Damian Dudkiewicz deserves congratulations for performing an energetic part with a painfully and recently-damaged right leg strapped in a splint, enabling the play to continue its run; and for managing to make the injury look unnoticeable.]

Clothes. Quite a chunk of the play is about sex, or at least about passionate romance, falling in love. The sophisticated clothes in the final scene let the very good-looking cast look sexy. But in the final scene they're just watching a play (and a bit too much noise from them while doing so, which distracts from the real audience being able to watch the same play). For the supposedly romantic part in the middle, they wear shapeless white tops and trousers - like being in an asylum. No-one could look attractive in these un-figure-flattering clothes. It matters because it fights against the mood of the scene: passions don't flame over grown-up romper suits. Other costumes work well and look good for the characters and their moods: Wall / Lion, the changes of Egeus / Quince / Philostrate, Titania / Hippolyta, Puck, Theseus / Oberon.

Diana Thomas's script edit and directing has the great plus of being bold and confident. Directing decisions are made, not fudged. It is perfectly possible to criticise the result, but it's an enjoyable evening, and the play (apart from some sluggish patches mainly inevitable from the plot and language) often hammers along at a good pace. Diana Thomas's decisions about multimedia are imaginative and her groupings and movement of the actors often inspired.

Laura Harling conjures up a delightful and exactly impish Puck. It's easy to believe that her Puck is a spirit - a truculent, naughty, bored, scheming spirit who also wants to have a bit of fun - impish, in fact (but with the slightest hint of an endearing vulnerability). It's a delight of the evening. Jennifer Skapeti gives studied and different performances to each of her roles: Boy (clever, because it's unspoken but catches something evocative), amateur actor Flute, and the over-acting Thisbe whom she makes touchingly moving. Laura Pradelska moves gracefully between and within her twin queenly roles as Hippolyta and Titania; with rich-coffee-flavoured voice and a fine ability with Shakespeare's language; elegant, with steely power, and the haunting quality of an unspoken sadness. Gareth Pilkington feels a natural Duke - as if Theseus has walked in off the street as himself. His Duke Theseus blends easily into the fairy king Oberon, annointing sleepers with narcotics; in both characters MC-ing the action with a relaxed - and almost benign - authority.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Michael Chalkley - Snug / Wall / Lion. Damian Dudkiewicz - Bottom / Pyramus. Laura Evelyn - Helena. Denys Gaskill - Egeus / Quince / Philostrate. Laura Harling - Puck. Shaleen Hudda - Hermia. Scott Jones - Lysander. Gareth Pilkington - Theseus / Oberon. Laura Pradelska - Hippolyta / Titania. Jennifer Skapeti - Flute / Thisbe / Boy. Vince Tyler - Demetrius.

Company Credits: Writer (of original) - William Shakespeare (1564-1616). Condensed by - Diana Thomas. Director - Diana Thomas. Fight Director - Christopher Diacopoulos. Lighting Designer - Uncredited. Sound Designer - Uncredited. Multimedia Designer - Uncredited. Technical Operator - Uncredited. Stage Manager - Meredydd Cheeseman. Stage Manager - Cassie Mitchell. Producer - Uncredited. Company - Word Media Productions. Website - www.wordmediaproductions.co.uk. Rose Theatre: Box Office - Anna Colangelo. Front of House - David Pearce. Bar - Shirley Newton. Operations Manager - Pepe Pryke. Thanks: Christopher Diacopoulos, Pepe Pryke, Suzanne Marie, Rose Theatre volunteers, Jim Livingstone (The Thanet), Specsavers, supporters of Bardathon 2009 at The Scoop.

END

John Park

reviewed Wednesday 21 July 2010 / Rose Theatre, Bankside, London UK

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