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Synopsis On a midsummer's night Hermia and her lover Lysander flee from Athens and Demetrius - the man Hermia's father favours as a son-in-law. Demetrius follows, pursued by Helena who loves him in spite of being spurned in favour of Hermia. On the same night Bottom and his friends leave Athens to find somewhere quiet to rehearse their play which is to be performed at the wedding feast of Duke Theseus. Drawn into the woods they enter a world of magic, mystery and wonder. Created in India with Indian and Sri Lankan performers and creative team. The production is the culmination of a project that began in autumn 2004 when the British Council in India and Sri Lanka commissioned Tim Supple to create and direct a theatre production to tour. A cast of 23 dancers, musicians, actors and performers from a hugely diverse range of locations and backgrounds came together for a seven week rehearsal process to create a production which is performed in English, Tamil, Malaysian, Sinhalese, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi and even a little Sanskrit. The result is a re-interpretation of the play, which casts aside familiar traditions of performing Shakespeare and replaces them with an epic, visceral and emotional power.
Tim Supple’s epic re-interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was created in India with Indian and Sri Lankan performers, opened at Camden’s Roundhouse on Tuesday (13 March 2007, previews from 8 March), following its UK premiere for 12 sell-out performances only as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s year-long Complete Works festival in Stratford-upon-Avon last summer (See News, 21 Apr 2006).
A diverse company of 23 dancers, musicians and actors initially came together for a seven-week rehearsal process to create the piece, performed – originally in outdoor venues – in English, Tamil, Malaysian, Sinhalese, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi and Sanskrit, with much emphasis placed on visual theatre and imagery.
At the Roundhouse, A Midsummer Night's Dream is co-produced by Roger Chapman, Matthew Byam Shaw and ACT Productions. Its London premiere – running from 13 March to 14 April 2007 (previews from 8 March) – precedes a major UK and international tour.
Overnight critics were inspired by the imagination that went into creating some stunning visual effects, and while they agreed a familiarity with Shakespeare’s play is valuable for audience members, they were impressed with the way the ensemble cast told the story clearly, overcoming the potential barriers of performing in eight languages. Reviews praised all the performances – particularly that of Joy Fernandes as Botton – and hailed Supple’s production as definitive.
Maxwell Cooter on Whatsonstage.com (4 stars) - Cooter said the Roundhouse offers: “just the place to showcase all the production's sexuality; and there's plenty of it, at times it looks like a staged version of the Kama Sutra. On top of that, there's ample space to show Sumant Jayakrishnan's design to best effect, as well as allowing the actors to display some gravity-defying ropework. No-one could accuse this multilingual ensemble of lacking ambition: Supple pulls off a near conjuring trick as he brings together actors, musicians and dancers, speaking seven different languages, into a coherent whole.” He said the text too often “disappears into the cavernous reaches of this former railway shed”, but added: “this is a production full of visual delights. There are some wonderful performances too: notably from Joy Fernandes' Bottom who manages to extract laughs without resorting to the over-the-top comic gestures and the frantic mugging that so many British actors feel compelled to do…. a fascinating production that brings fresh insights into this much-produced play…. it's definitely a production for people who at least vaguely know the play. Those who do, and go to this, will be amply rewarded.”
Michael Billington in the Guardian (4 stars) - “Even if I slightly preferred it in the intimate Stratford Swan to the acoustically challenging Roundhouse, it remains a visually ravishing recreation of the play, capturing all its magical strangeness. In this setting, spectacle, music and movement inevitably take precedence. The first great moment comes when the paper-clad back wall of Sumant Jayakrishnan's set is burst asunder by a group of whirling, twirling, frenzied fairies. And the wood itself becomes a place of physical danger, erotic mayhem and startling beauty: when Archana Ramaswamy's Titania shins up a strand of red silk and entwines it round herself to create a womb-like bower, one sees how powerful images reinforce and complement the text…. I was struck by the care taken with text. The lovers, in particular, trade insults with vituperative relish…. Joy Fernandes' Bottom… epitomises the virtues of this production. Fernandes has weight, dignity, and the total dedication of the artisan-turned actor… What this production does brilliantly is create a world on stage: one that has echoes of Ovid, Ted Hughes and the Polish critic, Jan Kott, but is also truly Shakespearean.”
Nicholas de Jongh in the Evening Standard (4 stars) – “Tim Supple's sensational, sexy and spectacular version… particularly targets young audiences bored by Shakespeare. It recovers that sense of magic and enchantment of which the play has been purged by Anglo-Saxon directors…. the intention was… to appeal to eyes and heart rather than ears and minds - to put Shakespeare's language second to the theatrical business of suggesting in fresh ways what madness it is to fall in love…. in the first theatrical coup, fairies burst through those back-walls, which prove no more than frail paper covering for a bamboo climbing-frame. The gulf between the real-life world of the Athenian court and the forest-realm of the fairies or the dreaming unconscious is revealed as no more than a flimsy barrier…. Thanks to Puck's attentions the quarrelsome quartet of lovers, earlier immersed in heavy, sexual grappling, fight it out in that pseudo-boxing ring, where they are caught up in a cat's-cradle of string, stretched from rope to rope. This brilliant directorial conceit suggests just how far they are literally and metaphorically tied up in love. The quartet emerge from the forest quite liberated. West End musical producers spend millions on technology and special effects to try to make magic. Supple, his actors and designers, together with three musicians whose strings, percussion and wind instruments conjure up gorgeous, atmospheric sound, manage to strike what most of those musicals do not - notes of enchantment.”
Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph - “It is hard to think of a better show to celebrate the end of winter than Tim Supple's magical, mysterious, unforgettably sexy production…. A few will doubtless complain about the loss of the beauties of Shakespeare's language, and I would certainly advise anyone not familiar with the text to read it before seeing the show. But, for theatrical excitement and fresh insight, this vivid Indian Dream… strikes me as being in a class of its own…. Everything seems fresh, spontaneous and positively throbbing with sensuality. Then there are the theatrical coups…. What Supple, his inventive designer Sumant Jayakrishnan and the actors memorably achieve is a clear distinction between the play's three interconnecting dramatic worlds…. Although this is essentially an ensemble production, there are some thrillingly charismatic individual performances. Joy Fernandes is one of the greatest Bottoms I have ever seen, unforgettably fleshy and funny, with a radiant sense of goodwill and self-worth that proves completely captivating. With her yard-long, raven-black hair and unbuttoned sensuality, Archana Ramaswamy proves a knockout as both Hippolyta and Titania, while Ajay Kumar's mohican-haired Puck has a joyous, amoral mischief about him that seems to capture the essence of this disconcerting comedy.”
Benedict Nightingale in the Times (4 stars) – “Apart from the spectacle and the fun, both of which are considerable, how many revivals come with actors speaking Shakespeare in no fewer than eight languages, Hindi to Tamil, Bengali to ancient Sanskrit to that great unifier of the Raj, English itself? Even those unfamiliar with the play shouldn’t be confused. Most of the funnier and more significant lines are the Bard’s own and, when the actors move into their own languages, the excited body language makes the meaning clear…. Ajay Kumar’s Puck, grinning and prancing and exuding a glee at upsetting human beings that for once justifies Oberon’s accusations of malice, does things with tape that leaves the befogged lovers feeling they’re not merely trapped in a forest but hopping about in a giant game of cat’s cradle…. there is a lot of sensuality in this touring revival, not least when Ramaswamy’s Titania falls for Joy Fernandes’s Bottom: a big, booming soul exuding good nature as well as embarrassment at the aubergine-like phallus that provides low accompaniment to his ass-ears. His fellow mechanicals, impoverished blokes who might be seen in any Calcutta street market, are shaken. So are we, but with laughter.”
At first sight, the Roundhouse should be an appropriate venue for Tim Supple's sumptuous production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. This, after all, was the 1960s' temple to hedonism and free love – just the place to showcase all the production's sexuality; and there's plenty of it, at times it looks like a staged version of the Kama Sutra.
On top of that, there's ample space to show Sumant Jayakrishnan's design to best effect, as well as allowing the actors to display some gravity-defying ropework. No-one could accuse this multilingual ensemble of lacking ambition: Supple pulls off a near conjuring trick as he brings together actors, musicians and dancers, speaking seven different languages, into a coherent whole.
But while applauding the brilliance of the conception and the visual treat served up for us, something doesn’t quite gel. The Roundhouse's acoustics don’t help: when only half the text is in English, it's even more important that every word is understood, but too much disappears into the cavernous reaches of this former railway shed. It's strange because the production had its origins in open-air theatres in India - perhaps a winter night in Camden doesn't have the same exotic allure.
That's not to say that it this is a poor production; far from it. From the fairies bursting through a paper backdrop to Titania wrapping herself in red silk until she's sleeping inside a flower bud, this is a production full of visual delights. There are some wonderful performances too: notably from Joy Fernandes' Bottom who manages to extract laughs without resorting to the over-the-top comic gestures and the frantic mugging that so many British actors feel compelled to do. Indeed, the whole troupe of rude mechanicals is, for me, far more appealing than usual, as there is a touching simplicity about the work.
This is a fascinating production that brings fresh insights into this much-produced play. I'm not sure how many Dream virgins will appreciate it, though; it's definitely a production for people who at least vaguely know the play. Those who do, and go to this, will be amply rewarded.
all are politics but good to see.i agree with you .no fiove star - kathi
13 May 07
all are politics but good to see - jone
13 May 07
Very good production, AWFUL venue. The pillars and their acoustics try their best to ruin the whole show but the magic of the performances and staging win through. I recommend seeing this only if you have a detailed prior knowledge of the play or can just let the images swim past you without understanding the story.
- josh
11 Apr 07
What on earth were they thinking about? One of the worst interpretations of a Shakespeare play I have ever had the misfortune to see. As most of it was delievered in several languages other than english, which they spoke for only a very small part of the show, they were clearly going to be on difficult ground. But the performances, particularly the women, were played at such a monotonous intensity they gave their characters no depth. It was a really a provincial touring show well suited, I'm sure, for the sub-continent but not here and at Chalk Farm. A real disappointment. - rds
23 Mar 07
Very disappointed.Booked early on ,at second top price and ended up with what I would call a view from the slips and a pillar.A good few people nearby were not there for the second half.I did not find it particularly magical and the Pyramus play was far less funny than I have seen.Having seen"Othello" and "Richard 2" in German and "Titus" in Japanese at Straford this year,all which made profound impressions,I did not expect the multi language idiom(?) to worry me.It did and seemed totally pointless,losing the wit and magic of the original text.Also,thought the knees up at the end(though this is becoming commonplace in Shakespeare comedy productions)totally out of place ruining the magic of the final scenes;though in this case.the irritating Puck would have done that anyway;the sing song delivery of the final speech was awful.For me,the Peter Brook (1960s)-now that was a revelation_ and the Edward Hall "Propellar" productions remain in a totally superior league. - Maurice C
22 Mar 07
Just appalling. I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed. Thoroughly disappointed, as I was really looking forward to this. I don't think the space helps - we booked middle price seats, but were outside the 'magic circle' of pillars: it felt like watching a play being performed in the next room. The multi-language aspect was something I thought could have been really interesting, but was actually just impossible to follow, whether they were speaking English or not. I know the play backwards, and found nothing in this performance that was remotely original, interesting or insightful. The set of paper was OK and impressed for a minute or two, but that's not really enough for a show that has been touted as being so spectacular. I only hope it improved as it went on - we snuck out discretely as Bottom was about to get his Ass' head, couldn't even stick it out until the interval. And we weren't the first to go - we saw plenty of being leaving before us and a few more followed. Really disappointing, and a total waste of money. - theatreboy06
18 Mar 07
What is with these people who are going around this site giving no stars at the moment?!?
Wonderful production, moving, funny, visually gorgeous and not a walkout in sight. Some people should actually find out what they are going to see Ifeel. - Julian
17 Mar 07
I don't know the 'Dream' very well and having watched 20 people walk out before me (and I couldn't even count the number who had left at the interval) this was a massive disappointment. The multi-layered languages and the Roundhouse's pillars only helped to create distance from the characters on stage. I actually couldn't engage with the show. The tableaux images in the programme were better on the page than on the stage. - Matthew Cartwright
15 Mar 07
An absolutely fantastic production. The Indian mystical realism genre fits the Dream like a glove and it's doubtful if I will ever be able to tolerate the mechanicals in productions where they are not treated with the seriousness and dignity that they are in this production again. The humour of "english" productions is maintained but Supple adds huge doses of eroticism, dignity and humanity to the piece. Quite fantastic and certainly the best version of this frequently produced play that I have seen. This is an absolute MUST SEE production. I cannot rate it highly enough, although I concur with the reviewers who have noted the poor acoustics of the Roundhouse. But do not let that put you off. SEE IT NOW. - Welthorpe
Purchased in 1996 by Torquill Norman, formerly dark after a period as a concert venue. An old railway turning shed. Re-opened 2001 after development. Closed in May 2004 for further redevelopment. Re-open June 2006.
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