Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at State Theatre Centre of WA

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at State Theatre Centre of WA
Thursday, April 18, 2024

In his introductory message, director Peter Evans writes that A Midsummer Night’s Dream “sometimes suffers from over-familiarity.” In the Bell Shakespeare production of the play at the State Theatre Centre this month, Evans confronts this by stripping away some of the most iconic features of the play, such as the visually lush woodland setting and the heavy-handed comedy. 

Instead, the set features what looks like an upturned shipwreck and a tangle of wooden tables and chairs, with no suggestion of any trees, vines, or fairy lights that are so strongly associated with this play. The fairies are dressed in all black, in what could be Melbourne streetwear, leaving all the magic to be found in the words themselves. He has also chosen to downplay the level of physical and bawdy humour in favour of bringing out the darkness in the storyline.

For those unfamiliar with the complicated plot, there are three interwoven narratives. There is the story of the star-crossed lovers Hermia and Lysander, who venture into the woods to escape and are followed by Demetrius, Hermia’s betrothed, and Helena, Hermia’s best friend, who is in love with Demetrius. 

They are interfered with by Oberon, king of the fairies, and his kooky servant Puck, in an elaborate setup to steal a baby from his wife Titania. Then there is the troupe of actors who go into the woods to rehearse a play that could either earn them lots of cash or see them executed if it offends the audience. And then one of the actors gets turned into a donkey. It’s bonkers.

The madcap feel is amplified in this production by the choice to cast only eight actors in all seventeen roles. The audience sees the cast transform between plotlines, highlighting the talent of the actors, especially Richard Pyros (Oberon/Theseus/Flute) and Imogen Sage (Titania/Hippolyta/Quince), who are absolute chameleons on stage. Sage, as the fairy queen Titania, is the only actor to bring any life to the drab set by slithering vertically through the beams, doing her best to suggest leafy boughs.

The bleakness of the set, costumes, and barely audible ambient music (even when the players call for music in celebration, there is none to be heard) help to emphasise the darkness of the story—a father who repeatedly defends his ownership of his daughter and would willingly see her die just to prove it; a state that enforces such violence; the players in fear for their lives from the whims of the same state violence; and the fact that so much of the comedy comes from 'lovers' acting without consent.

The only section where the comedy is fully emphasised is the closing play-within-a-play, which is essentially a spoof of Romeo and Juliet. This section is laugh-out-loud hilarious and makes it clear that if the director had wanted them to, the cast could have made earlier scenes that funny too. 

The current tour is the continuation of a run that was interrupted by COVID lockdowns. While it was a long time coming, audiences should be glad that it has finally continued. It offers a lot as a black comedy with an excellent cast. Just don’t go in expecting any leafy, verdant greenery or fairy wings.

SAMANTHA ROSENFELD