A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2002
William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was probably written between the autumn of 1594 and the spring of 1595. It has been described as ” One of his best, yet most difficult plays” and ” a sure argument for tee-totalism”!
The plot deals with the fortunes and downfalls of its characters; The Lovers, The Mechanicals, The Fairies and The Court. With magic and mayhem the plot develops into an hilarious jaunt of mistaken identity, misplaced desire and the translation of the cast during a Summer’s Night in the woods.
Our production aims to highlight the two very different worlds from which our characters stem. The oppression of court life and its rules and regulations is thrown up against the wild and primitive environment of the Fairy King and Queen and their entourages. The Lovers are plunged into Nature and its Old Magic, becoming, for a few hours only, stained with the potent juice of “Love in Idleness”.
Our unconventional interpretation of Titania and Oberon as Bird and Stag, is directly inspired by their other worldliness, the natural arena of the woods and their casual impotence . The temperature falls and rises with their animalistic exchanges and the mortals stumbling in on their “domestic” become unwittingly embroiled in an age-old cyclical game.
The primitive theme is carried through the play in its direction, music, costume and in its very location, hoping to achieve a contemporary, site-specific, community twist on a classic Shakespeare Text.
Everyone in the production lives locally and has given their time, support, talent and dedication to provide a true community Event. It has grown through evenings chewing the fat, drinking the beer and exploring the many talents of these people. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for making this, our very surreal Dream, a reality!
The Cadgwith Thespians made this adaptation of this play a wonder to behold, the community came together, actors, designers and all the other enthusiastic helpers all playing their part to produce this extravaganza.
Magical Performance
Woodland at Cadgwith Cove provided a suitably atmospheric setting for a triumphant production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream stage by the Cadgwith Thespians last week.
The Community group, re-formed after an absence of several years, won their audience over with a fast-moving production combining the traditions of the Bard with a host of quirky, contemporary ideas.
Puck wore rubber gloves, the fairies danced their very own version of the rugby players’ Haka and Bottom verged on the evangelical!
But there was plenty to please the traditionalist too, including an excellently cast quartet of lovers whose hilarious antics, and eventual happy ending, were a delight.
Superbly designed by Cadgwith artist Sarah Brown, the towering puppets representing the Fairy King and Queen added to a spectacle already graced by a truly magical setting.
The costumes, many of them made by Helston Hal-an-Tow organiser Gillian Geer, were extremely effective, and the lighting and original music cleverly contributed to the overall effect.
Producer and director Liane Jose can be rightly proud of a production dedicated to the memory of her grandmother, Mavis Skewes, whose entire family was involved in the show.
So popular was the play that the Thespians, a group of local people of all ages and professions, had difficulty coping with the hundreds who turned up to watch the final night’s performance.
Expectations have been raised and many people on the The Lizard and beyond are eagerly looking forward to next year’s production.
Helston Packet 10th August 2002
