Those mischievous fairies. When they’re bored, they have their fun and then complete chaos results. Luckily the fairies of A Shakespeare’s Midsummers Night’s Dream exist in a magical world where misunderstandings and star-crossed lovers can be put right by the pollen of a flower inhaled during a vivid dream.
The Galt Gardens amphitheatre is perfect venue for a summer production of Shakespeare in the Park.
It looks like an actual ancient Roman/ Greek amphitheatre, though scaled down, where the classical era masses once gathered to be entertained by live theatre.
So it is great to see a talented troupe of actors including university students and popular community theatre members using this perfect venue to perform Shakespeare’s beloved comedy “ A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” They are performing this free production live in Galt Gardens every Thursday and Friday until Aug. 10.
The play is a basically a love story gone horribly wrong with hilarious results after Fairy King Oberon played beautifully by Derek Stevenson, decides he wants Fairy Queen Titania’s baby, and sets his hyperactive servant Puck on the case with the help of magical flowers designed to make the recipient fall in love with the next person or animal they see. Which is why added hilarity ensues when, somewhere along the way, the boisterous actor Bottom ( D.J Gellatly) is turned into a half man half-donkey beast, who Titania ( Camilla Pavlenko) falls in love with and has her attendants treat him with luxury.
Producer Kate Connolly and director Andrew Legg have brought together a talented group of actors to make this fast paced 90 some minute adaptation of the comedy really work.
While the costumes and a few props have been contemporized and there are a few anachronisms like cell phones and laptops being utilized , the dialogue is pure Shakespeare.
There is a lot of action, especially on the part of the mischievous Puck, played perfectly by the impish Danielle Gurr, who sprints through the audience at lightning speed, all over the amphitheatre and even onto the back of one of the actors.
The lead cast members Meredith Pritchard ( Hermia), and Natalie Buckley (Helena) play squabbling sisters/ best friends and star crossed lovers of Mat Smerek (Lysander) and Daniel Howard (Demetrius) really shine jumping from love to loathing at the drop of a hat or breath of pollen.
However the supporting cast stole the show which adds liberal doses of Monty Python to Shakespeare’s masterpiece.