CityLife

A Midsummer's Night Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Bolton Octagon
February 6, 2010

TAKING his cue from the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album cover, the Sixties in general and - for reasons by no means clear – the reign of the Greek Colonels, director David Thacker has imposed a concept on Shakespeare’s most popular comedy that is more than a little odd.

He’s got a cast of 14, lots of costumes, a big set, live music and thus, obviously, a relatively large budget for a rep production. But very little works.

The opening court scene, where the lovers set out their stall and Theseus and Hippolyta are introduced, is played against a backdrop of a huge military poster and the men are all in army uniforms. It’s one way of doing it... but here, as elsewhere, the pace would make a snail look speedy.

Down in the magical woods, things on the design front are far, far, worse. The designer is one Ashley Shairp, the course leader for Theatre And Performance Design at the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts. But I assume he isn’t entirely to blame, as I expect Mr Thacker probably told him what he wanted.

Tedium piled on tedium

Whatever; what we get is a sort-of cross between Playschool and the Tellytubbies, with a forest of coloured paper lanterns on sticks, hillocks of green fun fur and bouncy dayglo balls of all sizes scattered right across the stage floor, so the cast are constantly having to kick them aside or risk tripping over them. 

It all looks silly and very clumsy. There is also a near-vertical staircase that looks risky for the cast asked to ascend and descend; and a fireman’s pole to test the nerve of the rest.

Thank goodness for the lovers, who manage to surface from the scenic detritus. In particular, MEN Theatre Award winner Vanessa Kirby, as Helena, again proves we got it right and Jake Norton’s Demetrius is not only nicely macho but can also deliver the lines.

The scene with the Mechanicals presenting their play is amusingly done, with Kieran Hill as an appealingly heroic Bottom. There’s also an extremely funny cameo from the ever-reliable Russell Dixon. It takes an old pro to milk the timing like this.

But, dear me, it’s 10.45 pm by now and we're not finished yet - and so much of the rest has been tedium piled on tedium. Pushing three-and-a-half hours is a long time to watch a slow-motion train crash.

Octagon Theatre, Bolton. Until March 6, 2010. Mon-Sat 7.30; mats Feb 5, 6, 8, 17 and 27 at 2.30. Tickets £18.50 to £9.00. Box office 01204 520661 or www.octagonbolton.co.uk.