Whilst we mere mortals enjoy A Midsummer Night's Dream
as a fantastic frolic in the woods, those with brains on a more
spiritual level will have studied all the references to
Shakespeare's monarch. While we see mixed up lovers, a fairy queen
falling in love with an ass and intellectually-challenged actors
trying to put on a play for the Duke, they see the fairy court as
homage to Queen Elizabeth I.
Last night's opening of the play at The Rose Theatre in Kingston saw two greats of
British theatre Sir Peter Hall and Dame Judi Dench joining forces
which according to Stephen Unwin "looks set to become one of the
defining theatrical events of 2010"
As Titania, many eyebrows were raised when news emerged that
Dame Judi would revisit a role she played with Sir Peter directing
back in 1962. Yet with so many reference to the Monarch in the
text, and with a suitably regal Oberon you suddenly fail to
remember a younger Titania. To hear Shakespeare's verse in Dame
Judi's control, there was no doubt that we were in the hands of a
master. Judi Dench is always stunning, definitely the best
Shakespearean mistress of her generation, arguably the world. The
other main star of the show was of course not on stage but in Row D
of the stalls and throughout the production Sir Peter's hand was
clearly felt. The text is everything. Where in so many productions
the verse is hurried to favour the plot, here you knew that every
meaning was milked out to make it oh so easily comprehensible to a
modern audience.
Perhaps I haven't seen enough Dreams but how refreshing for
Bottom and fellow mechanicals not to use yokelspeak but remind us
that Shakespeare's rural folk came from Warwickshire and should
therefore be Brummies. School productions apart, this was the
youngest and thinnest Bottom I'd seen with Oliver Chris in the
rôle. Not quite as funny as Bob Barrett's Bottom in Propeller's
version seen last year at the Rose but for the best bit of stage
"business" he won my heart with the last gesture of the first half
- as Titania lovingly leads him complete with ass's head to her
bower in darkness at the back of the stage, he looks coquettishly
over his right shoulder to the audience. He may well have winked. I
was laughing too much to have noticed.
Other lovely performances were offered by Rachael Stirling as
Helena, Charles Edwards as Oberon and the experienced James
Laurenson as Snout. But as Stephen Unwin says in the interview
about the show on this site, Dame Judi loves the Rose and
instead of writing a cheque, she's appearing here. When she's on
stage "it feels like there's a live tradition going back 400 years
and something very precious is happening there"
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