WHAT is the summer open air theatre touring schedule without its Shakespeare, and no Shakespearean play is more popular than A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Revolving around love, mystery, demanding parents, jealous spouses, authoritarian rulers and blundering rustics, and with a beautiful forest setting, it tells a timeless story.
Taunton Thespians began their summer tours back in 2001 with Twelfth Night, and now, 25 years on, director Bob Corwin has taken on this story of teenage lovers, scheming and lusty fairies and the famous Rude Mechanicals, setting their tale in the 1930s and choosing familiar and very varied music to accompany their antics.
An orchard in Somerset (at The Grange, Street) seemed the ideal venue to see the show, even if the weather gods were determined to drizzle on the Thespians’ parade.
Duke Theseus and his court are elegantly flashy, the fairies favour a bit of steam punk and it’s clear that weavers, bellows menders, joiners, tinkers and tailors need (usually high vis) boiler suits and hard hats to do their very vital jobs. From then it’s back to the Bard and his familiar words as the audience realises that the more it changes, the more it stays the same.
The 16-strong cast brings back company favourites and introduces some newcomers in a fast-moving, fun filled and very clever production that confounds a few expectations.
With a trio of actors like Rob Adam, Phil Turley and Martine Davies, the director knew he could safely and convincingly nudge the usual magical romance of the fairy royals and the weaver turned into a donkey towards the sensual. Rob Adam is a terrific Bottom, the charismatic hub of the actors who will perform Pyramus and Thisbe and a man very comfortable in his own magnetic qualities. Pit him against Phil Turley’s fairy king Oberon, a spirit with as much humour as pride, and Martine Davies’ determinedly lascivious Titania and the sparks fly.
The enchanted lovers, bewitched by the powers of Oberon’s servant Puck (the knowing and energetic Claire Haworth), are nicely befuddled as they race through the dark forest. An outstandingly louche Demetrius from Jack Ward and a convincingly lovelorn Helena from Harriet Thomas stumble in confusion between Jasmine Bowden’s Hermia and Rob Paul’s Lysander, not knowing they are under the influence of fairy dust.
Zoe Hudson is a delightful Alice of Dibley-like Peter Quince, magnetised by Nick Bottom, with Greg Cook as the almost hirsute Flute, aka Thisbe.
It is all huge fun, with the accent firmly on comedy, and it continues from Tuesday 22nd to Saturday 26th July at Taunton, Cannington, Cleeve Abbey and Taunton Heathfield.
GP-W