Theatre Review: A Midsummer Night's Dream (2017)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Review:

Davis Shakespeare Ensemble, Davis CA, 2017

G. Bruno Fischer

“Shakespeare on Wheels: Humor and Thrills”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s most well-known and often performed comedies, portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Thesus (played by Tim Gaffaney), the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta (Andrea J. Love), the former queen of the Amazons. These events include the misadventures of four young Athenian lovers and a band of amateur actors who are manipulated by the fairies of the forest. 

Davis Shakespeare Ensemble’s 2017 rendition of, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” is an electric bullet-train of a comedy that’s guaranteed to thrill proud Aggies and hardcore Shakespeare fans alike. Director Rob Salas’s vision of Shakespeare’s classic farce has incorporated enough creative liberties to give the show it’s own identity while remaining faithful to the source material. The plot and dialogue is 100% classic while the setting and visuals have been given an upgrade; taking inspiration from the more colorful aspects of present-day Davis.  

This includes nonverbal shout-outs to iconic local business, thrift shop style costume design, and the half-a-million bicycles zipping and zapping across the stage with impeccable coordination and choreography. The addition of bikes alone would’ve made for a unique interpretation, but the inclusion of cellphones, pantomime improvisation, and a brilliant Telenovela-like take on a traditional Shakespearian character turns this performance into an animal of its own design.

The fast, snappy pacing of the actors and dialogue make for a quick-witted series of screwball exchanges. The cohesiveness of the actors was obvious and eliminated any predictable Shakespeare moments or tropes. It’s clear that the cast understood their roles and knew their lines like scripture, but it was the little moments in-between the dialogue when the characters truly shined. Morsel-sized bits of improv provided an immersive human element to an otherworldly display of true love and magic. 

Lysander (Sam Jones) and Demetrius (Kevin Gish) were especially fun to watch when sharing, or rather competing, on stage. Seeing Jones and Gish duking it out with rhymes was just as thrilling as their slapstick sparing, sparking a gut-busting rivalry worthy of any Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck cartoon. Other standout performances came from the talent behind Puck (Kyle Stoner), Titania/Hipolita (Andrea J. Love), and Snug (Philomena Block) who played their parts with punctilious grace and rapt comedic timing. But by far the MVP of the night was John R. Lewis’s portrayal of the delightfully bombastic Nick Bottom who was so thoroughly hilarious I could feel the tears running down my leg. 

There might have been one or two skateboard tricks too many in an otherwise electrifying “Shakespeare on wheels” production. I also was slightly disappointed in Bottom’s transformation. The most famous headdress of classic theatre was given a makeover to fit in with DSE’s contemporary Davis mise-en-scene so it “fits” the tone of the production. But in a show with psychedelic hipster-fairies the grand reveal felt a wee bit underwhelming. I won’t spoil it, but I will say that Lewis still dazzled through it like a glitter bomb in a diamond mine. 

What originally made for a light but clever comedy about fairies harassing youths has blossomed into a turbo-charged side-splitter for modern audiences. It’s an eclectic production that effortlessly switches back and forth between smart and silly like a perfect pendulum making for one of the most entertaining adaptations of Shakespeare I’ve seen in years. Go see it.