A Midsummer Night's Dream
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Noël C. Tovey
Sydney Theatre Company in association with the Olympic Arts Festivals
Wharf Theatre until October 4
Review by Allen Myers
This excellent production is part of the Festival of the Dreaming, which has some sort of connection with the 2000 Olympic Games. We concluded after the performance that the festival could well be the chief (only?) benefit that most Sydneysiders gain from the Olympics.
The production, with an all-Aboriginal cast, succeeds in showcasing some very talented actors. More importantly, it manages to blend motifs of Aboriginal culture with traditional Shakespeare in an entertaining and intelligent production that gives new insights into this classic.
The fairy kingdom of Oberon and Titania is the axis of A Midsummer Night's Dream, around which revolve the actions of both the duke's court and the "rude mechanicals". In this production, the fairy world merges into the Dreamtime, complete with imagery of the Rainbow Serpent and a waratah as Titania's bed.
It works remarkably well, thanks not only to good acting and direction but also to clever costuming and Julie Martin's computer-generated graphics. It suggests that the continuing popularity of this play owes much to its recall of a nearly lost European dreamtime — when things went bump in the night because supernatural creatures, mischievous or benevolent, caused them to do so.
More of a challenge for this or any production of Shakespeare's text is the dated — not to say barbaric — relations between the sexes, particularly the abuse which the male suitors heap upon Helena and Hermia when the suitors' affections shift.
Here, performers have to tread a fine line, using the humour in the text to undercut the sexism, but without undermining the story-line and the audience's suspension of disbelief. Both Deborah Mailman as Helena and Melodie Reynolds as Hermia more than rise to the occasion.
The rude mechanicals are among the most popular of all Shakespeare's characters, and with good reason. In this production, they come close to stealing the whole show — which is as it should be.
Among generally top flight performances, two deserve special mention. Kevin Smith is a superb Bottom, with a fine sense of comic timing. Lawrence Clifford brings to Puck both zest and a real depth of character.
All in all, this is a thoroughly entertaining production — so much so that the audience several times broke into spontaneous applause in the middle of scenes. I think Shakespeare would have enjoyed his comedy's encounter with the Rainbow Serpent.