Peter Viney's Blog

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
By William Shakespeare

Directed by Paul Hart
Designed by Kate Lias
Musical Director – Joey Hickman

Watermill Theatre.
Bagnor, near Newbury
Saturday 12th May 2018, 14.30

The Watermill Theatre

CAST
Everyone played fairies, sang and played musical instruments

Victoria Blunt – Bottom (Pyramus)
Eva Feiler- Puck / Snug (Lion) / Philostrate
Lillie Flynn – Helena
Joey Hickman – Demetrius / Flute (Thisbe)
Tyrone Huntley- Lysander
Emma McDonald – Hippolyta / Titania
Offue Okegbe – Theseus / Snout (Wall)
Jamie Satterthwaite – Oberon / Starveling (Lantern)
Mike Slader – Egeus / Peter Quince
Sophie Stone – Hermia

This is the fifteenth production of my favourite play which I have reviewed on this blog, i.e. since 2011. I also recall the Peter Brooks version and the John Caird version clearly. So, I never expected to see any more “new ideas” on the play, but this is full of them.

Sorry. I have to make direct comparison with The Globe’s current As You Like It. (LINKED) The artistic director of The Globe, Michelle Terry, had much to say on creating a play with an ensemble, freeing productions from being “director-led” and aiming for 50 / 50 male / female casting. The Globe production is gender blind, also includes a deaf actor and …  sadly, it really does not work.

Here at The Watermill they achieve perfect 50 / 50 male / female casting, the feel is of a very tight ensemble working for each other as well as with each other, they have a brilliant deaf actor who integrates completely. I gave As You Like It at the Globe just one star. I’m giving this production a straight five stars.

This does everything so well that The Globe did so badly this time AND yet achieves the same aims. They include a deaf person. The difference is that while they have 50/50 gender balance here in the cast, it is NOT gender-blind. Puck is simply a woman. Philostrate  is simply a woman. Bottom is addressed as she and her, and all is explained as the transformation to an ass obviously included the requisite male genitals.

Above all, this has a director (Paul Hart), and a costume designer and a lighting designer. The programme has a fascinating explanation of the Watermill space … no standing room in dressing rooms for tall actors, no way of crossing behind the stage, entrances and exits have to be rehearsed to get through limited space. They have to run around the outside often. This is another explanation of why a director is essential. The mathematics of casting for this must have been incredibly intricate. Everyone plays one to three named roles, but they also all have to be fairies, and they all have to sing, dance, and the major musicians among them have to be in the right place to play the found music. It must have been a gargantuan planning task. When I looked at the programme, I was surprised that while Hippolyta / Titania are doubled, Theseus and Oberon are different actors. That’s unusual since Peter Brooks realized the roles naturally pair and almost certainly were intended to (Oberon and Titania are magical extensions of Theseus and Hippolyta). Among the many constraints in planning would be that Offue Okegbe (as Theseus) is also the bass guitarist, essential in playing during the forest scenes.

Costumes are also brilliantly thought out … changing costume must be an exhausting task … as will be checking they’re in the right place. At the interval we passed an open door revealing a costume changing area at the back as well. The costumes are also extremely effective, based on an Edwardian theme. All the fairies and Puck are in evening dress with top hats – “fairies from the old fabric of the theatre.”  They’re consistent. They show care and thought (unlike the Globe’s “everyone choose what they want.”)

The Faeries with Titania (Emma McDonald_

Then let’s take projection and accents. Everyone projected well and clearly (not so at The Globe). It was not “accent blind” for a change either. Accents were neutral, with concious shifts to show change of role. Emma McDonald uses a strong  Spanish accent for Hippolyta, and neutral for Titania. That makes sense in more ways than one. Hippolyta is a captured enemy queen, so a foreigner. Spanish suits her exotic looks. Spanish also suits her haughty disdain for Theseus – an important part of her role which is sometimes overlooked or under-played. But also refer back to Shakespeare and 1595 and a captured enemy. It would have to be Spanish, seven years after the Armada. Then we have Eva Feiler as Puck (neutral) but “educated Edinburgh lawyers Scots” for Philostrate (a perfect fit too). A tiny touch of Mummerset for the mechanicals, a light sprinkling of Northern for Bottom.

Puck (Eva Feiller) with magic tricks

Eva Feiler’s female Puck is the third memorable one in recent years (the others being Lucy Ellison at the RSC’s Play For A Nation in 2016, and Katy Owen in Emma Rice’s 2016 Globe version). Yet it’s quite different to the other two. This is a sweet, cheeky Puck as a rather nervous sorcerer’s apprentice. She gets things wrong, but then she’s worried that she’s going to.  She also has dolls of the four sleeping lovers to exercise the final magic on. Then as well as her firm and judgemental Scots Philostrate, she also does a memorable wary lion with stage fright … yes, that’s how it’s often done, but costume and performance here (having to hold Quince’s hand) are hilarious.

Bottom among the fairies, Titania to the left of Bottom

Victoria Blunt was Bottom in brown overalls. No one is going to complain about a female version. She was very funny, and as throughout the production, much livelier than I’ve seen it played. This is a young cast with boundless energy.

Emma McDonald’s Hippolyta was suitably disdainful, then her Titania in a fabulous costume was the “sexiest” Titania since we saw Sheridan Smith play it in the Branagh season. She has powerful onstage charisma. Jamie Satterthwaite’s Oberon worked with Puck as they’re meant to, punctuated the lover’s with acoustic guitar while sitting invisibly, and intoned a marvellous I Put A Spell On You while anointing eyes.

Joey Hickman was Demetrius, as well as Musical Director playing the important songs, AND Flute / Thisbe. Great ‘spectacles’ acting even! He contrasted visually with Tyrone Huntley’s Lysander (Tyrone has a soaring singing voice too). They couldn’t get the tall / short casting into Helena / Hermia as Lillie Flynn’s Helena was only a inch or so taller than Sophie Stone’s Hermia. It didn’t matter as they made a great deal of the attempted comparison, and then used the platform on the stage for “higher” and “lower.” The lovers big scene was suitably physical but they didn’t simply recycle the Peter Brooks moves which have been done in so many productions.

Hermia (Sophie Stone) & Lysander (Tyrone Huntley)

Sophie Stone is a deaf actor, but she spoke loudly and clearly and all it meant was that she had the distinctive “deaf accent” which is at the same level of distance from RP as some light regional accents, and much closer to RP than heavy regional accents. They used signing, very tenderly in some sections with Tyrone Huntley’s Lysander, but unlike The Globe they never relied on signing long sections, nor did they make the huge “sawing the air” movements which afflicted As You Like It. This is a far smaller space, of course.

The Rude Mechanicals: Victoria Blunt as Bottom, centre

The Pyramus & Thisbe play was full of novel  ideas. We had a manic excited Peter Quince (Mike Slader) introducing it. It’s the first time I’ve seen the star of the “rejected play” appear – a major costume change. I won’t spoil them – go and see it. It’s all great … Offue Okegbe’s “wall” had tears running down my face, and I loved the fact that “lantern and moon” carried a duck instead of a dog … the area around the Watermill is full of ducks waddling about. AND they got three apposite and funny jokes from that.

I Put A Spell On You: Oberon (Jamie Satterthwaite) & Titania (Emma McDonald)

The music is 60s. Perfect choices … Cupid because Puck and Cupid are filling the same role, then I Put A Spell On You and Blue Moon. All delicately introduced with several singers. They list the found music with composers prominently in the programme. I’ve been moaning about theatres failing to credit important found music for years. They get it right.

The programme: the correct way to do it

The thing is, in recent weeks we saw two mediocre productions at The National Theatre in London (Absolute Hell, Macbeth). An abysmal production of As You Like It at The Globe, and a mediocre Macbeth at the RSC. Ten years ago, when we were busier, our theatre was South central … we could get to Chichester, Southampton, Poole, Bath, Salisbury and Newbury without much effort. In the last six or seven years, we have expanded much more to London and Stratford. Stratford rarely lets you down. However, we’ve seen some rough stuff in major London productions. In the last month, we have seen superb productions at Chichester, Bath and Newbury (twice at Newbury … The Rivals was also first rate). I’m sure the same would be true in the North. Suddenly the expense and effort of London-centric theatre seems less rewarding. I used to say “there’s equally good stuff out of London.” In 2018, there’s BETTER stuff out of London.

The Watermill is easy to get to. This production is far better, funnier and more musical than the current Globe offerings AND it will tour. Do not miss it.

*****

FOR THE 2019 TOUR WITH A PARTLY NEW CAST, SEE:

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Watermill on tour, Poole 2019

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID
Dave Fargnoli, The Stage ****
Judi Herman, What’s On Stage ****

LINKS ON THIS BLOG

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – RSC 2011
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Headlong 2011
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Filter 2011
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Selladoor 2013
• A Midsummer Nights Dream – Handspring 2013, Bristol
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Grandage 2013
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Globe 2013
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Propellor 2013
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream RSC 2016, ‘A Play for the Nation’ at Stratford (February)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream RSC 2016 Revisited Stratford, (July)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Globe 2016
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – BBC TV SCREEN version 2016
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, 2016
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bath, 2016
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Young Vic 2017
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bridge Theatre 2019
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Globe 2019
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Watermill on tour, Poole 2019
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare, Wimborne 2019

PAUL HART
Twelfth Night, Watermill, 2017
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Watermill 2018
Macbeth, Watermill, 2019
Kiss Me Kate, Watermill 2019

VICTORIA BLUNT
Twelfth Night, Watermill, 2017 (Maria)
Lady Windermere’s Fan, Classic Spring 2018
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Watermill 2018
Macbeth, Watermill, 2019

JAMIE SATTERTHWAITE
Twelfth Night, Watermill, 2017 (Orsino)
POSH, Salisbury  2015

EMMA McDONALD
Twelfth Night, Watermill, 2017 (Antonia)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Watermill 2018
Macbeth, Watermill, 2019

LILLIE FLYNN
Fantastic Mr Fox, Nuffield Southampton 2016 (Mrs Fox)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Watermill 2018
Macbeth, Watermill, 2019
Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit (Hyde Park, 2018) MUSIC

OFFUE OKEGBE
Twelfth Night, Watermill, 2017 (Feste)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Watermill 2018
Macbeth, Watermill, 2019

EVA FEILER
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Watermill 2018
Macbeth, Watermill, 2019
Othello, RSC 2015
The Merchant of Venice, RSC 2015

MIKE SLADER
Twelfth Night, Watermill, 2017 (Andrew Aguecheek)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Watermill 2018
Macbeth, Watermill, 2019