A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dublin Castle Summer Season
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Words: Phil Cummins
In the 450 years since William Shakespeare's birthday, it’s only really in the last 100 years that his work has been fused with the contemporary culture of the day to give added context to the longevity of the themes and concerns of The Bard’s best work. The most popular example is, of course, Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film version of Romeo & Juliet, though this reviewer has seen a version of Macbeth featuring a cast clad in military uniforms and firing AK- 47’s rather than wielding swords, as well as a version of Hamlet far removed from 16th century Denmark and, instead, set in 1950’s American suburbia.
It’s no surprise, then, that Irish theatre company Mouth On Fire have sound-tracked one of Shakespeare's best-loved plays, a comedy featuring five interconnecting stories of love, decadence and identity, and fused Shakespeare's work with the soundtrack of 1970’s glam rock; a genre of rock music characteristic of many of the play’s themes and, indeed, characters.
Dublin Castle’s Castle Gardens is an excellent space for the performance. On unusually balmy summer night in Dublin, the play’s surroundings are nothing short of majestic. Of course, the play’s surroundings also contrast starkly with the costumes and props of the cast, of which much emphasis is given: Freddie Mercury’s wardrobe seems to have been raided for leotards for the character of Lysander; Hermia appears to be playing a 70’s era San Francisco folkie; Demetrius, the man whose feelings Hermia doesn’t return in favor of Lysander, appears to be the type of 50’s nerd that is the antithesis to Lysander; the chorus of the play is found strumming a Fender Stratocaster rather than a flute.
What makes the costumes work is the knowledge that basing the production on 70’s, glam rock- era costumes is no more and no less nostalgic than dressing the cast in Shakespearean-era clobber, which has its own nostalgia. While it’s true that nostalgia, or 'Retromania' as Simon Reynolds terms it, has the power to drown out everything, the production sets out its tone in the opening moments of the act one, scene one: T-Rex’s ‘20th Century Boy’ blares from the PA’s, the cast dancing together to establish the cultural tone of Mouth On Fire’s production. From then on, the play progresses at a steady, even pace, seamlessly seguing into the “play within the play” that is rehearsed and staged for the wedding of the Duke (Theseus) and the Queen (Hippolyta).
With all nine actors in the production juggling up to three characters each over 90 minutes, the play could seem too busy, at times, thought the cast pull it off with, seemingly, little effort: Matthew O'Brien’s Lysander has all the charisma necessary for the part, Sharon Mannion plays Hermia to her character’s naive and dilemma-stricken nature, Fionn Foley’s Puck is as jaunty and playful as expected, while Neill Fleming’s Egeus, Hermia’s disapproving father, is as shrewd and determined as expected and a lynchpin in terms of the play’s action.
Closing the performance with cast introductions performed against the soundtrack of Mud’s ‘Tiger Feet’ and in a manner that can only be likened to hit TV series Glee, it becomes more apparent that Mouth On Fire’s production will either delight those who seek out fresh productions of Shakespeare or disappoint purists who might find the coupling of Shakespeare and glam rock to be nothing more than a gimmick. With a strong cast and an imaginative creative team, however, it’s hard to fault.
A Midsummer Night's Dream runs in Dublin Castle till August 3rd and you buy your ticket right here at entertainment.ie!
