A Midsummer Nights Dream
Reviews
SURREY ADVERTISER
Campus sets scene for a Night to remember
It was the turn of the Guildford Shakespeare Company to work their magic on probably The Bard's most popular and performed folly of unrequited love and mistaken identity, A Midsummer Night's Dream, which they performed by the lake at University of Surrey.
For the Shakespeare sceptic, it is the kind of lighter, comic offering which would seem a safer bet than the darker tragedies, but because of its familiarity it almost necessitates a fresh and innovative perspective which was achieved here.
For someone's whose limited experience of Shakespeare is still synonymous with unwelcomed exam revision, not to mention uninspired school plays short on laughs, I didn't have high hopes but fortunately five minutes in found myself converted.
The intimate outdoor setting by the lake worked particularly well, and as the night fell in it became genuinely atmospheric, effortlessly entrancing its audience. It proved that weather permitting, the town's natural backdrops (the company also perform at Guildford Castle) sure beat sitting inside a cramped auditorium.
At the production's core was a truly talented ensemble, whose energy and commitment never wavered throughout the three hours as they brought every element of the dialogue and action alive, expertly handling the humour without ever overplaying it.
It was also a reflection of their skills that despite having to compete with the nearby train station and toing and froing of delivery vehicles on a busy campus, they were still able to transport us to this make believe world and keep us transfixed.
While sticking to the traditional form of the play, there were some great touches such as French classic, J'Taime, blasting out whenever the love potion began to take effect on the lead characters when they saw the latest object of their desire. Trudi Jackson as Puck was particularly captivating and Matt Pinches, co-founder of the company, was a scene stealer as Bottom whose natural exuberance and comic ability was reminiscent of James Dreyfus.
As someone who has paid almost three times the cost of this ticket to see other plays which left me completely underwhelmed, this was so far the theatrical highlight of my year.
Reviewed by Caroline Bullock
Back to Top
SURREY ADVERTISER
Enchanting world brought to life in a Perfect Setting
Ducks dabbling in a lake fringed with weeping willows. The perfect setting for A Midsummer Night's Dream performed with ingenuity and aplomb at the University of Surrey by the Guildford Shakespeare Company.
This talented little company operates on a shoestring but it's a magic shoestring, which can recreate the enchanted world of an Athenian wood.
The costumes are an eclectic mix of 1950's chic for the lovers (apart from Demetrius who appears to be in school uniform), grubby silk tie dye shifts for the fairies, Star Wars elegance for Oberon/Theseus and a Roman Catholic priest's get up for Hermia's father.
Hippolyta begins the play in chains with a roar of despair but don't let that mislead you.
There were in fact no nightmarish undertones in this sunny production, which emphasises the farcical element. Trousers are discarded enthusiastically and the girls strip down to their scanties. It's the Ray Cooney in Elizabethan English. It's not possible to be serious about two men fighting in their Y Fronts and socks.
The rude mechanicals, always delight, came clad in sparkling white straight from Gordon Ramsey's kitchen. Peter Quince is a French chef and Bottom a sous chef. It is the am dram group form hell making up in enthusiasm for what they lack in talent with Bottom desperate to play every part and to direct the piece as well. A powerhouse of energy and bombast Matt Pinches is unstoppable.
Puck and the solitary fairy are four year olds, totally unreliable, engaging and obstreperous, thumb sucking dynamos and there's a well judged richly comic Helena (Roanna Cochrane).
But it's invidious to single out anyone in what was a first rate piece of ensemble playing.
From the sexual shenanigans of the lover tot the uptight formality of the aristocracy and the inspired incompetence of the mechanicals it's all great fun and like all dreams full of daftness.
The cast projected their voices beautifully without, as far as I could tell electronic assistance, and made an admirable stab at speaking the verse. All in all, a dream of a production.
Reviewed by Margaret Burgess
Back to Top
FARNHAM HERALD
A Decidedly entertaining dream
The fact that I fell off my seat may have had more to do with the uneven ground and damp soil than being overcome with amusement, yet rarely have I spent a more enjoyable summer's evening than watching the Guildford Shakespeare Company's new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, on now at the University of Surrey Lake.
It is for a reason that A Midsummer Night's Dream has proved to be Shakespeare's most popular comedy. This well-constructed piece of theatre expertly intertwines three separate stories, each reflecting the plot of the other and all working together to comment on the whimsical and ultimately ridiculous nature of love.
However, this production makes sure not to rest on the laurels of the brilliant play. Rather, Guildford Shakespeare Company has committed itself to original and witty interpretations of each character. From a stuck-up schoolboy of Demetrius to a flamboyantly French chef of a Peter Quince, this company offers a commendably fresh approach to a much-loved text.
The triumph of this production is that it is able to bring such modern slants onto what is undeniably a 16 th century text. Whereas the company's attempt to update Twelfth Night, a play which closed almost a fortnight ago at the Guildford Castle Gardens, ultimately resulted in a jumbled mix of various references to different places and times, this production's success lies in its near-perfect coherence.
From the characters to the music, the props to the actions, it is resolutely modern, and it is due to its consistency that the aspect of the production are able to work with and not detract form the text itself. Any discrepancies in terms of more exact timing or setting – for example in the case of the 1940's costumes coupled with modern sexual references – are knit together by the fact that all references are decidedly tongue in cheek, even playfully ironic.
However, it is in performance as well as interpretation that the production works consistently well. There are no weak performances, but all actors execute multiple and often differing roles with unfailing conviction, infecting each other and the audience itself with their boundless energy.
If the first half feels like one comic surprise after another, then the second, in descending somewhat into the merely slapstick, fails to match the first in quality. However, it is more than saved by the performances of two different but equally talented actors.
Matt Pinches's notably earnest and energetic performance is classic Bottom, all misplaced bravado and heart-warming foolishness. In contrast, Trudi Jackson's inspired interpretation of Puck is notable for its complete originality. Any thoughts that a mixture of childlike innocence and callous mischievousness seems an unlikely combination for a portrayal of this knavish fairy are quickly dispelled by the remarkable performance of this very talented woman.
Indeed, if all I have mentioned here seems improbable, if its coherence as a play at all doubtful, see for yourself how this company makes it work. You may leave the grounds with the thought that “you have but slumber'd here”, but it is a decidedly entertaining dream.
Reviewed by Katherine Rollo
Back to Top
Reviews
SURREY ADVERTISER
Campus sets scene for a Night to remember
It was the turn of the Guildford Shakespeare Company to work their magic on probably The Bard's most popular and performed folly of unrequited love and mistaken identity, A Midsummer Night's Dream, which they performed by the lake at University of Surrey.
For the Shakespeare sceptic, it is the kind of lighter, comic offering which would seem a safer bet than the darker tragedies, but because of its familiarity it almost necessitates a fresh and innovative perspective which was achieved here.
For someone's whose limited experience of Shakespeare is still synonymous with unwelcomed exam revision, not to mention uninspired school plays short on laughs, I didn't have high hopes but fortunately five minutes in found myself converted.
The intimate outdoor setting by the lake worked particularly well, and as the night fell in it became genuinely atmospheric, effortlessly entrancing its audience. It proved that weather permitting, the town's natural backdrops (the company also perform at Guildford Castle) sure beat sitting inside a cramped auditorium.
At the production's core was a truly talented ensemble, whose energy and commitment never wavered throughout the three hours as they brought every element of the dialogue and action alive, expertly handling the humour without ever overplaying it.
It was also a reflection of their skills that despite having to compete with the nearby train station and toing and froing of delivery vehicles on a busy campus, they were still able to transport us to this make believe world and keep us transfixed.
While sticking to the traditional form of the play, there were some great touches such as French classic, J'Taime, blasting out whenever the love potion began to take effect on the lead characters when they saw the latest object of their desire. Trudi Jackson as Puck was particularly captivating and Matt Pinches, co-founder of the company, was a scene stealer as Bottom whose natural exuberance and comic ability was reminiscent of James Dreyfus.
As someone who has paid almost three times the cost of this ticket to see other plays which left me completely underwhelmed, this was so far the theatrical highlight of my year.
Reviewed by Caroline Bullock
Back to Top
SURREY ADVERTISER
Enchanting world brought to life in a Perfect Setting
Ducks dabbling in a lake fringed with weeping willows. The perfect setting for A Midsummer Night's Dream performed with ingenuity and aplomb at the University of Surrey by the Guildford Shakespeare Company.
This talented little company operates on a shoestring but it's a magic shoestring, which can recreate the enchanted world of an Athenian wood.
The costumes are an eclectic mix of 1950's chic for the lovers (apart from Demetrius who appears to be in school uniform), grubby silk tie dye shifts for the fairies, Star Wars elegance for Oberon/Theseus and a Roman Catholic priest's get up for Hermia's father.
Hippolyta begins the play in chains with a roar of despair but don't let that mislead you.
There were in fact no nightmarish undertones in this sunny production, which emphasises the farcical element. Trousers are discarded enthusiastically and the girls strip down to their scanties. It's the Ray Cooney in Elizabethan English. It's not possible to be serious about two men fighting in their Y Fronts and socks.
The rude mechanicals, always delight, came clad in sparkling white straight from Gordon Ramsey's kitchen. Peter Quince is a French chef and Bottom a sous chef. It is the am dram group form hell making up in enthusiasm for what they lack in talent with Bottom desperate to play every part and to direct the piece as well. A powerhouse of energy and bombast Matt Pinches is unstoppable.
Puck and the solitary fairy are four year olds, totally unreliable, engaging and obstreperous, thumb sucking dynamos and there's a well judged richly comic Helena (Roanna Cochrane).
But it's invidious to single out anyone in what was a first rate piece of ensemble playing.
From the sexual shenanigans of the lover tot the uptight formality of the aristocracy and the inspired incompetence of the mechanicals it's all great fun and like all dreams full of daftness.
The cast projected their voices beautifully without, as far as I could tell electronic assistance, and made an admirable stab at speaking the verse. All in all, a dream of a production.
Reviewed by Margaret Burgess
Back to Top
FARNHAM HERALD
A Decidedly entertaining dream
The fact that I fell off my seat may have had more to do with the uneven ground and damp soil than being overcome with amusement, yet rarely have I spent a more enjoyable summer's evening than watching the Guildford Shakespeare Company's new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, on now at the University of Surrey Lake.
It is for a reason that A Midsummer Night's Dream has proved to be Shakespeare's most popular comedy. This well-constructed piece of theatre expertly intertwines three separate stories, each reflecting the plot of the other and all working together to comment on the whimsical and ultimately ridiculous nature of love.
However, this production makes sure not to rest on the laurels of the brilliant play. Rather, Guildford Shakespeare Company has committed itself to original and witty interpretations of each character. From a stuck-up schoolboy of Demetrius to a flamboyantly French chef of a Peter Quince, this company offers a commendably fresh approach to a much-loved text.
The triumph of this production is that it is able to bring such modern slants onto what is undeniably a 16 th century text. Whereas the company's attempt to update Twelfth Night, a play which closed almost a fortnight ago at the Guildford Castle Gardens, ultimately resulted in a jumbled mix of various references to different places and times, this production's success lies in its near-perfect coherence.
From the characters to the music, the props to the actions, it is resolutely modern, and it is due to its consistency that the aspect of the production are able to work with and not detract form the text itself. Any discrepancies in terms of more exact timing or setting – for example in the case of the 1940's costumes coupled with modern sexual references – are knit together by the fact that all references are decidedly tongue in cheek, even playfully ironic.
However, it is in performance as well as interpretation that the production works consistently well. There are no weak performances, but all actors execute multiple and often differing roles with unfailing conviction, infecting each other and the audience itself with their boundless energy.
If the first half feels like one comic surprise after another, then the second, in descending somewhat into the merely slapstick, fails to match the first in quality. However, it is more than saved by the performances of two different but equally talented actors.
Matt Pinches's notably earnest and energetic performance is classic Bottom, all misplaced bravado and heart-warming foolishness. In contrast, Trudi Jackson's inspired interpretation of Puck is notable for its complete originality. Any thoughts that a mixture of childlike innocence and callous mischievousness seems an unlikely combination for a portrayal of this knavish fairy are quickly dispelled by the remarkable performance of this very talented woman.
Indeed, if all I have mentioned here seems improbable, if its coherence as a play at all doubtful, see for yourself how this company makes it work. You may leave the grounds with the thought that “you have but slumber'd here”, but it is a decidedly entertaining dream.
Reviewed by Katherine Rollo
Back to Top