56
Aluredian
Giulia Roggia were delightful as Theseus and his
betrothed Hippolyta, unencumbered by amorous
entanglements. Charlotte Smyth's Hermia was a
most intelligent performance, as she was pulled
first one way then the other.
Greg Albery as Lysander was suitably tortured,
the subject of Puck's mistake to find himself
enamoured of Helena, played by Bryony House,
who herself showed true pain and desolation as
she found herself abandoned by Demetrius,
played by Toby Catton, who brilliantly conveyed
his duplicity and shallowness.
Toby and Greg shared a beautifully sung and
amusingly delivered duet of Reach Out, I'll Be
There, while Bryony gave a really heart-rending
rendition of Mercy. Hannah Cartwright had one
of those wonderful dramatic moments, yet still
underpinned by humour, with Roberta Flack's
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, in response
to being tricked into falling for Bottom, now
adorned by a wonderful donkey's head. Jordan
Webb as Bottom had some show-stealing scenes
with Oscar Harding's Quince, real knockabout
vaudeville, brilliantly executed.
There were many highlights amongst the faeries.
Hamish Barclay gave a masterful performance
as Oberon, a modern-day rock guitar legend,
sharing some really entertaining moments with
Puck, played with great conviction by Sam
Merriweather.
But there were also ensemble performances that
stood out - the chorus of faeries showed
wonderful acting skill and timing, while there
were spectacular dance scenes from The Wild
Bunch, imaginatively choreographed by Karen
Paul. The resident troupe of backing vocalists
were outstanding throughout, almost, almost the
real stars of the show!
And all was backed by another wonderful band,
the newly-formed King's College Big Band, with
a stunning collection of arrangements by musical
director Colin Albery. Costumes and make-up of
the various humans and faeries were visually
stunning, as was Head of Drama Alastair Wood's
lighting design. All credit to him as director and
producer of the show, for exploring a path of
musical theatre different to the past couple of
years. A thoroughly entertaining evening from
beginning to end.
A
udiences in the King's College
theatre were given rich
entertainment over four
nights with this year's
musical, a stylish and
inventive re-working of
A Midsummer Night's Dream. Although
Shakespeare's original text was largely left
untouched, many aspects of the play and its
underlying themes were given a thoroughly 21stcentury
context. Not least of these modern-day
flavours was the integration of classic chart hits
scattered throughout the production, performed
in character by the actors on stage.
Music and Shakespeare have lived hand in hand
for centuries - and there was a healthy nod to
this tradition in the opening sequence, when the
overture to Mendelssohn's famous score played
to set the scene. And the rock and pop hits that
were to follow blended equally seamlessly into
the action, perfectly chosen to illuminate a
particular scene or theme.
The intricacies of this story, with its tale of true
love never running particularly smoothly, were
captured with a whole number of intelligent and
well-judged performances. Freddie Barker and
A Midsummer Night's Dream
by Chris Holmes