THEATRE REVIEW:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is arguably Shakespeare’s most poetic play. More than half of the lines actually rhyme and in the 21^st century it can be hard to declaim rhyming poetry without sounding more than a little insincere. It’s a light-hearted play which can lead people to think that it’s a simple one as well – which it isn’t. It is complex and multi-layered and full of traps for the unwary and under-rehearsed.

Newcastle Theatre Company’s current production does not fall into any of these obvious pitfalls. The director, Stewart McGowan, obviously has a clear and bright vision of the play and the only reason that this does not fully deliver is due to the limitations of the individual actors (which is hard one for an amateur theatre company to get around). Obviously some of these (such as everyone rushing the words in the first act) could be due to opening night nerves and, as with most plays I have seen at NTC, it will undoubtedly become more polished after a few performances.

The set is cleverly designed and well executed and the music was done well without being overtly intrusive. The idea of a 1980’s theme was, perhaps, not as fully developed as it could have been and could easily have been missed by the uninitiated, although the program does point it out. The only jarring production issue was the lighting which was extremely frustrating for the audience; sometimes lighting the actor’s waistline instead of face and often not lighting the actors at all but seemingly random sections of the stage.

The costumes and make-up were largely very successful. Puck’s makeup was a real stand-out and the costuming of Oberon and Tatiana was appropriately over-the-top. Some of the 80’s costumes were a little painful and ultimately unnecessary given that so much of the play was apparently outside that scheme. It seemed as if just a few characters were stuck in a bad wedding from 1986 and everyone else was kindly ignoring their fashion faux pas.

A few of the actors really stood out – Nyssa Hamilton, as Puck, was truly magical; Rebecca Cuttance, as Helena, totally outclassed the other lovers; John McFadden, as Snug, was beautifully droll; Brian Randell, as Bottom, deservedly brought down the house – and almost everyone else played their part with such enthusiasm as to make any short comings a mere quibble. But it has to be mentioned that, as Theseus, Michael Fiddian should really have stuck to being a director. His delivery was painfully wooden and he was unsure of his lines too often for even amateur dramatics.

The Pyramus and Thisbe players completely stole the show and perhaps this was intentional. The play is without any real protagonist, instead consisting of three inter-locking stories that share common themes of love, changeability, perception and belief. Of these three, the ill-suited troupe of actors putting on a play for the Duke’s wedding feast were easily the funniest and the most successful part of the night’s performance. The energy and commitment of these actors was far beyond the rest of the cast for most of the night and it was certainly appreciated by the audience.

NTC is a local institution and its productions are almost always of a standard that makes it worth paying for a ticket. Aside from a few minor irritations that might well be overcome in future performances this fanciful production is another credit to the group.

Review by Chris Clark for culturehunter.org

January 2012.