A Midsummer Night's Dream (2008): Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, The Globe Theatre, Bankside

PrA Midsummer Night's Dream (
2008
)

Location: The Globe Theatre, Bankside
Media
Live Performance
Category
Theatre

PRINCIPAL CAST: Oliver Boot (Demetrius); Christopher Brandon (Lysander); Paul Hunter (Bottom); Michael Jibson (Puck); Tom Mannion (Oberon); Pippa Nixon (Hermia); Siobhan Redmond (Titania); Laura Rogers (Helena).

This production ran from 21 May - 4 October 2008, according to Theatre Record.

"Lord, this is ordinary....Lots of things conspire against this revival possessing any palpable quality of enchantment. One of them, to be fair, is beyond Munby's control [air traffic]....But the unlovely look of the fairies - lots of pink and purple, taffeta dresses and smudged make-up, so reminiscent of Eighties New Romantic fashion disasters - that must have been waved through by Munby, right?...And if you like cheap, bawdy laughs, often achieved at the expense of potential pathos, Munby has plenty of them - whether it's Laura Rogers's Helena spreading her legs in an exaggerated invitation to Oliver Boot's Demetrius or Peter Bankole's Thisbe shoving his face against Snout's posterior to 'kiss the wall's hole' in Act V."  ~ Dominic Cavendish, "Mediocrity fails to dispel Shakespeare's midsummer magic", Daily Telegraph, 23 May 2008

"The predominant visual metaphor works a treat. The Athenian court is all stiff black period dress, yet the fresh air sees the lovers become, in every sense, less buttoned-up. Lighter coloured under-layers are revealed, which are far less constraining for a beautifully choreographed scene of escalating mayhem."  ~ Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard, 22 May 2008, in Theatre Record 2008, Issue 11

Pe People involved in this production