Banner image photo credit – Michael Lynch
Presented by Flabbergast Theatre at Wilton’s Music Hall
Believed to have been written between 1594 and 1596, William Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, remains a firm favourite with audiences today. In fact, according to YouGov, it’s the UK’s third favourite Shakespeare play, and the most popular one among over-65s.
Award-winning Flabbergast Theatre’s adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is now presenting in London. Adding their trademark physical comedy to the play, the eight-person ensemble deftly brings Shakespeare’s words to life.
This fresh and exciting take on a classic is accessible to modern audiences, while still remaining true to the original text. Just as The Telegraph described Flabbergast’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Macbeth, it’s “Shakespeare’s words wrung into new shapes through raw physical movement.”
The story follows four Athenians across one magical and dreamlike night in the forest. When the mortals stumble across Oberon, King of the Fairies, (Krystian Godlewski) who’s fighting with his queen, Titania (Reanne Black), things begin to go awry. Along with his mischievous fairy servant Puck (Lennie Longworth), Oberon uses magic to get revenge on Titania; and through a series of mistakes and tricks, lots of confusion and hilarity follows.
Staged in the intimate Wilton’s Music Hall, the oldest Grand Music Hall in the world, the atmosphere is immediately set. Upon entering, the cast are present and milling around – half in character, half not – shouting across the room to each other and ‘warming-up’, really bringing the audience onside from the get-go.
The play opens with a song, as the cast perform in a hypnotic chorus. It almost feels as though they’re casting a spell upon the audience, transporting everyone into Shakespeare’s magical and ethereal world.
Directed skilfully by Henry Maynard, the cast put on a wonderful performance. For the entirety of the two hours and 20 minute run-time, they fully commit to every line and movement. The consistent use of physicality brings energy and a new intensity to the story – and makes it really quite unique.
Each fight, fall, and jump is felt; and the cast aren’t afraid to look silly as they tumble, stomp, and run around the stage. They must all be covered in bruises!
Bottom (Simon Gleave) is arrogant yet bumbling, truly hilarious in his self-obsession. Lennie Longworth nails it as Robin Goodfellow (Puck) – bringing elements of musicality as well as humour to this cheeky pixie role.
The King and Queens’ presence is felt as they truly rule over the stage, with levels used to drive home their status in a nice homage to Ancient Greek theatre. This is particularly effective when Oberon spends a portion of the play bouncing around on stilts.
As for the four lovers, their desperation, frustration, and passion is apparent. Lysander (Elliot Pritchard) and Demetrius (Nadav Burstein) consistently fling themselves around the stage with high camp combat moves. This contrasts nicely with Helena (Vyte Garriga) and Hermia (Paulina Krzeczkowska) who bring some tenderness to the production and convey their confusion effectively.
Garriga, in particular, is really captivating to watch as Helena – a character who can sometimes come across as somewhat whiny and pathetic at the start of the play as she desperately pines after Demetrius. Yet, her portrayal is assertive and multi-dimensional.
Every line is delivered thoughtfully and the play is visceral and pacy. Props are utilised throughout (including skulls, masks, flowers, candles…and a feather duster and 3D cinema glasses!) in Flabbergast’s unique theatrical style. The lighting and acoustics are interestingly conceptualised to effectively create a beautiful and captivating spectacle.
The ensemble are able to make even the most antiquated jokes funny through ad-libbing and their over-the-top physical comedy. For example, when Pritchard momentarily breaks character as Lysander after a questionable line to inform the audience, “It’s in the script!” Or, while an intense slow motion fight is going on in the background during a quiet heart-to-heart between Helena and Hermia.
This is a fantastical production which stays true to Shakespeare’s original script, while bringing some well-timed modern embellishments and packing a real theatrical punch. Both new audiences and long-time Shakespeare fanatics will likely enjoy this highly visual and comedic adaptation, and all the elements of clownery that come with it.
Like the characters, you’ll leave as though you’re waking from a dream and perhaps, in the words of Bottom, that you “have had a most rare vision”.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is running at Wilton’s Music Hall until 20th April 2024.
What’s your favourite Shakespeare play? Are you planning to see the show? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.