A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by William Shakespeare
Richmond Shakespeare Festival
July 2009
Richmond Theatre Critics Circle award winner:
“Best Acting Ensemble”
The summer re-staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was different from the previous year’s As You Like It re-mount in that this production featured exactly the same five-actor cast as the previous. We had an abbreviated rehearsal process, mainly for purposes of re-blocking for the smaller outdoor stage at Agecroft Hall, but also to fix a few moments that were awkward or unfunny. We also took the opportunity to re-design the five smaller fairies, going from hand puppets to larger, more impressionistic tangles of wood and vine shaped vaguely like animals’ heads. The look was better, and more in keeping with the elemental nature of our fairies, but the actors didn’t have as much time to work on the different puppeteering skills needed for the new design, so the idea wasn’t as fully realized as I’d hoped.
But that was a minor quibble in comparison to how much tighter, crisper, and more specific this production became. Under the open sky, with audiences five times what we’d previously seen (every performance was sold out), and with J. David White’s gorgeous lighting to separate city from wood and day from night, the show came much more deeply alive. We added bass and a full drum kit to the band, making the music more dynamic and dramatic, particularly for the climactic “Through the House Give Glimmering Light,” accented by onstage smoke and the fairy King and Queen standing on a rotating platform.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream sold out for all five of its performances (three were rained out—and sold out) at Agecroft Hall.
Photos coming soon!
Richmond Times-Dispatch: "One-line review: I laughed so hard at Richmond Shakespeare's new production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' that I got a headache.... Andrew Hamm directs this time, pushing the comedy and mayhem way past any previous boundaries of taste, propriety, reverence for the Bard and other annoyances. We have here a cell phone and a drag queen, imitations of William Shatner and Christopher Walken, a Macbeth-worthy Scottish accent and a half-witted Starveling with a stick. It's just nuts. Hamm uses the company's customary five-actor approach, which guarantees craziness as two men and three women take on 21 roles, switching dizzily from one part to another with just a change of hat or vest.... Richmond Shakespeare moves its indoor season to Center Stage in the fall. I hope the place is well-built, because this company might bring down the house -- with laughter."
Style Weekly: "Sensual is the word that summarizes the Richmond Shakespeare Festival’s version of 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream,' Shakespeare’s ode to love. It is steamy yet playful, capturing the giddiness of young lovers and proving my companion’s point that 'Shakespeare is all about hooking up.' But this show is not just for grown-ups; several children in the audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves, laughing often while the sexual innuendo sailed harmlessly overhead.... The five-player ensemble -- Sandra Clayton, Brandon Crowder, Stacie Rearden Hall, Kerry McGee and Adam Mincks -- displays remarkable versatility and physicality as they play 22 human and mystical characters with Richmond Shakespeare’s trademark modern-day adaptations.... there is not a better way to spend a midsummer night."
Richmond Times-Dispatch: "One-line review: I laughed so hard at Richmond Shakespeare's new production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' that I got a headache.... Andrew Hamm directs this time, pushing the comedy and mayhem way past any previous boundaries of taste, propriety, reverence for the Bard and other annoyances. We have here a cell phone and a drag queen, imitations of William Shatner and Christopher Walken, a Macbeth-worthy Scottish accent and a half-witted Starveling with a stick. It's just nuts. Hamm uses the company's customary five-actor approach, which guarantees craziness as two men and three women take on 21 roles, switching dizzily from one part to another with just a change of hat or vest.... Richmond Shakespeare moves its indoor season to Center Stage in the fall. I hope the place is well-built, because this company might bring down the house -- with laughter."
Style Weekly: "Sensual is the word that summarizes the Richmond Shakespeare Festival’s version of 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream,' Shakespeare’s ode to love. It is steamy yet playful, capturing the giddiness of young lovers and proving my companion’s point that 'Shakespeare is all about hooking up.' But this show is not just for grown-ups; several children in the audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves, laughing often while the sexual innuendo sailed harmlessly overhead.... The five-player ensemble -- Sandra Clayton, Brandon Crowder, Stacie Rearden Hall, Kerry McGee and Adam Mincks -- displays remarkable versatility and physicality as they play 22 human and mystical characters with Richmond Shakespeare’s trademark modern-day adaptations.... there is not a better way to spend a midsummer night."
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