When you think of Shakespeare and the bard’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, you think of romance, comedy, and fantasy. You think of a forest shrouded with mythical characters and couples falling in and out of love. The Shakespeare Company and Hit & Myth’s production of the Bard’s most popular plays closes out their season, and it is a solid production of an enchanting story. Though this dream runs a little long, the company proves that telling Shakespeare in a small space is one of the things they do best.
This production has three groups of characters: The Athenians, the Mechanicals and the Fairies. The Athenians are where the marriages and romantic pairings stem, while the Mechanicals put on a play within a play and the Fairies perform magic to create comedy and chaos. This production has several artists doubling up on portraying characters.
The upcoming wedding between Theseus, Duke of Athens (Joel Cochrane) and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons (Daniela Vlaskalic) prompts Egeus (Michael Rolfe) to bring his rebellious daughter Hernia (Ali Grams) before the Duke. Egeus wants Hernia to marry Demetrius (Joel Taylor) while she is in love with Lysander (Bernardo Pacheco). Hernia’s best friend Helena (Annisha Plesche) is in love with Demetrius and is trying to win his love. Hernia and Lysander run away to the forest to elope and Helena and Demetrius follow. In the forest, there is more trouble brewing amongst the King and Queen of Fairies. Oberon (Cochrane) is in a feud with Titania (Vlaskalic) as she won’t give up her pageboy to Oberon. He decides to cast a spell on her and assigns his servant Puck (Kit Benz) to do it. Magic mixes up everything so that the Athenians are mismatched, one of the Mechanicals, Bottom (Tyrell Crews) turns into a Donkey that Titania immediately falls in love with. Everything is in chaos, until it is righted and everyone decides it was a dream. The Mechanicals led by Peter Quince (Michael Rolfe) performs his play (within a play) at the wedding of the Duke and the Queen.
Director Ron Jenkins brings out all the comedy in this production. The four Athenians fall over each other and physically obstruct each other like fools. Benz’s Puck is a comedic Shakespearean fool and Crew’s Bottom plays for all the laughs. Nikko Hinayo’s Flute is also a source of great comedy, as the Mechanical who has to play a role they dislike.
This formidable cast brings the Bard’s script to life and with Anton de Groot’s set design, Narda McCarroll’s lighting design and Greg Wilson’s sound design, everything is incredibly dreamlike. De Groot sets up a trampoline in the corner of the stage disguised as the forest, McCarroll’s lighting design gives everything a dreamlike hue and Wilson’s design is magical. Costume designer Ralamy Kneeshaw makes everyone distinct in their characters, as most artist double throughout the production.
If you love Shakespeare and this most popular play, then don’t miss this performance in the Vertigo Studio space. More information is available online.