July 7, 2011
I had high expectations of Tomahawk Theatre, having seen their absolutely excellent production of Much Ado a couple of years ago; and I was not disappointed. This is a gutsy and witty Dream, with punky, boot-sporting fairies and a disreputable Glaswegian Puck, dedicated to eradicating the concepts ‘fey’ and ‘twee’ from your vocabulary when considering the play.
The setting, in the courtyard of Oxford castle, did not immediately call to mind a wood outside Athens (except when gale-force winds tore through the trees on the old castle mound behind us) but there was a spirit of invention, improvisation, what one might describe as whimsy with an edge, that more than made up for any shortcomings in the set (a large box rather reminiscent of Andy Pandy, for those of us who can remember that far back).
Everyone was wonderful, strong, delightful – special mention must go to Joseph Adams as Puck, played as someone you would definitely edge away from late at night on a subway train, but perfect for this – not so much mischievous as anarchic. Anna Glynn was stunningly beautiful and effortlessly charismatic as Titania, morphing from victim to vixen as Hippolyta - the production followed the traditional casting of the same actors as Oberon/Theseus and Titania/Hippolyta.
Both her and Craig Finlay, magisterial and faintly menacing as Oberon, were beautifully counter-poised by Adam Potterton as Bottom and the awesomely talented Ida Persson as Quince, who actually managed to make the comic scenes funny. I could mention everyone – fairies, lovers, rude mechanicals, incidental parents, everyone was top notch, invenitive, committed. And so brave!
The weather was not kind yesterday evening and even swathed in blankets and scarves and protected by umbrellas, we the audience were frozen after two and a half hours, but these poor lambs, especially Eve Winterbottom as Hermia and Imogen O’Sullivan as Helena, endured the lashing rain and biting wind and not-far-from-zero temperatures while clad in flimsy silk shifts, at some stages lying on the cold stone flags and pretending to be asleep while their limbs turned blue.
Metcheck says the weather will be nice this evening, though, and I would certainly recommend this quintessentially Oxford summer experience. But wrap up warm just in case.
The setting, in the courtyard of Oxford castle, did not immediately call to mind a wood outside Athens (except when gale-force winds tore through the trees on the old castle mound behind us) but there was a spirit of invention, improvisation, what one might describe as whimsy with an edge, that more than made up for any shortcomings in the set (a large box rather reminiscent of Andy Pandy, for those of us who can remember that far back).
Everyone was wonderful, strong, delightful – special mention must go to Joseph Adams as Puck, played as someone you would definitely edge away from late at night on a subway train, but perfect for this – not so much mischievous as anarchic. Anna Glynn was stunningly beautiful and effortlessly charismatic as Titania, morphing from victim to vixen as Hippolyta - the production followed the traditional casting of the same actors as Oberon/Theseus and Titania/Hippolyta.
Both her and Craig Finlay, magisterial and faintly menacing as Oberon, were beautifully counter-poised by Adam Potterton as Bottom and the awesomely talented Ida Persson as Quince, who actually managed to make the comic scenes funny. I could mention everyone – fairies, lovers, rude mechanicals, incidental parents, everyone was top notch, invenitive, committed. And so brave!
The weather was not kind yesterday evening and even swathed in blankets and scarves and protected by umbrellas, we the audience were frozen after two and a half hours, but these poor lambs, especially Eve Winterbottom as Hermia and Imogen O’Sullivan as Helena, endured the lashing rain and biting wind and not-far-from-zero temperatures while clad in flimsy silk shifts, at some stages lying on the cold stone flags and pretending to be asleep while their limbs turned blue.
Metcheck says the weather will be nice this evening, though, and I would certainly recommend this quintessentially Oxford summer experience. But wrap up warm just in case.