A Midsummer Night's Dream

A story that has been loved from generation to generation.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a classic that will forever be a part of our theatrical experiences and I believe one of Shakespeare’s funniest. The subject matter doesn’t age.

This being said, I find it very interesting just how people interpret it.

The script is the same, characters are all very true to original form but many times people try a different spin on it and try to make it more modern, dark etc. Well first time director Mark Kearney had his own unique idea. He had it set in the era of the 50s… very original. He believes this era captured the spirit of teenage rebellion.

At the beginning I have to say I really didn’t get his idea and felt it was "over done" in a false way especially with the costuming. The costumes where SO animated I kept waiting for someone to break into "Grease is the word", but with time, the talented young actors took over and distracted me from their bright rock "GREASE" inspired outfits. There was such a pure innocence, energy and youth oozing from the four main characters. With this said, the easiest way to look at Midsummer is in three sections, the three parts that make up this magical story.

The Lovers – The stand out for me from the four talented young actors was Hermia (Hannah McRae) she gave such a real performance and was a delight on stage. Helena (Kerryn Moren) was such a bright character, her voice was a little annoying at the beginning but with time you just fell in love with her, especially her reactions to the two boys fighting over her. The two males were not as strong as the girls but their true acting abilities came out when they had the potions put upon them. Lysander (Dominique Hennequin) was a joy to watch as he transformed from sweet geek to over the top love crazed teenager.

The Fairies - The most famous character is Puck (John Pendergast). What a difficult role for anyone to take on, it’s so well known…. great expectation. I believe John did a wonderful job. He was naughty, & kept his movements 100% consistent and had a gentle energy. The only criticism I had was that some of the dialogue was a bit rushed, which is SO easy to do with Shakespeare. With such long monologues and added excitement; it’s easy to get carried away. Special mention goes to Pucks costume, the BEST in the whole show.

Oberon (Robert Clark) and Titania (Jaclyn DeVincentis) had beautiful light and shade with each other. Sometimes I believe these characters can be played too hard but Robert and Jaclyn were a great match for each other.    

Again on costumes, there were mixed reactions to these. The fairies had a more modern feel, slightly space aged inspired with amazing wire wings and crowns.Again at the beginning I was not a fan but by the end they had grown on me. The only major problem I had was Titanias crown; I feel it was on the wrong side of her face to how she was positioned on stage. I couldn’t see half of her expressions as it covered her and she had such a striking face.Cobweb, Peaseblossom, Moth and Mustardseed, were individually not as strong but as a group they worked beautifully with each other well.

The Actors - Stand out performer of the whole show was Bottom (Luke Morrison) what a talented guy with such comical timing, he owned the stage. I would go and see the show again just for him. This was a very even, tight group of actors with each of them having their moment to shine, which I believe to be very clever Directing. One stand out moment was when Flute/Theisbie (Jeremy Ives) came out in his over the top very unflattering female outfit, he worked the moment beautifully, I laughed to tears.

The show was performed in the lovely arty Mechanics Institute Performing Arts Centre. The set was very simple, which I liked because it gave you a chance to concentrate on the story. It was cleverly changed into three different places with little effort. I loved the Fairy bed, often a hard piece of set to work. The use of the door in the tree for the disappearance of Bottom for the transformation into an arse was very clever. The lighting was generally good although there were times where the actors were outside their spots but it was only the second night so I’m sure that will be fixed.

The cast were so good with their projection; there were times I was trying to see if they had mikes. I loved the way they did the final scene, traditionally this is Pucks final monologue but it was done as a group and each character had a line. It was presented naturally and I thought it was a really nice way to finish the story.

Overall a very entertaining night and a very clean production. The use of physical comedy was some of the best I’ve seen, very subtle yet very effective. It may have sound like I’ve gone on about the costumes but we all have one area of theatre we are passionate about and that’s mine. The fact that cast members were good enough to take me on a journey to forget all about that is brilliant!

Congrats PPP on a great show.

Latecha Cadle has been a competitive Ballroom/Latin American dancer for 20years. Represented Australia overseas and has taught competition dancers for 6 years. Involved in theatre only for 6 years, already has a large list of shows she has been involved in. Proudly received two Lyrebird award nominations for Best Actress as Jenny Any Dots in CATS with Windmill Theatre and Highly Commended Musical Performance in CABARET with DTC as "kit kat dancer." This year Latecha has done 5 shows!!! She will choreograph her first show next year with DTC.