Edinburgh Fringe 2024
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kind of….!
Edinburgh Youth Theatre
Venue: theSpace, Triplex
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A well directed and delivered piece of youth theatre with a modern twist on this well-worn tale, mixing original text with modern language asides, clever physical theatre and strong performances from all the key actors.
Review
One of the many wonderful things about Shakespeare’s plays are their malleability – you can bend and twist them into almost any shape and still end up with something that’s instantly recognisable and jolly entertaining. Stand by, then, for the bendathon that is Edinburgh Youth Theatre’s idiosyncratic take on arguably the Bard’s craziest comedy of them all, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Or in this case A Midsummer Night’s Dream……Kind Of! as we’re in very much the present day for this tale of incorrectly administered potions and lovers’ trysts, plus the inevitable bits of mistaken identity.
And the great thing about being an Edinburgh based community youth theatre group is that you’re pretty much guaranteed to get an audience, so it was no surprise to see theSpace Triplex’s very Big Space almost full on what was otherwise a very quiet Edinburgh Sunday morning.
You don’t really need an explanation of the plot do you? Really? Well, EYT stick pretty much to the convoluted route that Shakespeare took to describe the intricacies of getting hitched to the right kind of person whilst navigating the interruptions of various scheming parties and dodging the group of very under rehearsed actors, in this case convinced that they’re next on the list for a BAFTA.
But EYT also took the opportunity to add an abundance of amusing modern language asides, threw in some interesting, well choreographed dancing as well as a series of slick and inventive pieces of physical theatre.
Overall, this is a well directed and delivered piece of youth theatre. Literally, given that the excellent, original sound design that provided both scenic atmosphere and segues was created by the talented Greta Raffi, a member of the company. The actors delivered the original text with understanding and aplomb and clearly enjoyed throwing in the modern language asides. Entrances and exits were rapid, seamless and ensured that the action continued unabated. Costumes were superb and very colourful, enhancing the character of the actor wearing them. Props ranged from the functional to the wacky – watch out for that potion delivering bubble blower – the set was adaptable and lighting sympathetic to the action taking place on stage.
The cast numbered just under twenty and a lot of thought had been given to ensuring that everyone had their “moment in the spotlight” be it through dialogue, dance or simply a brooding, menacing presence (watch out for those bouncers in the dark shades). The main parts – the four lovers, Oberon, Titania, Puck and Bottom were all strong performers. And whilst the remaining roles got the job done with varying degrees of success, overall the ensemble ensured that the audience remained engaged and the action tripped along apace.
Whilst it’s perhaps invidious to single out individuals, real credit must go to a bravura performance from Jasper MacAninch (Lysander). Vocal projection, enunciation and characterisation were perfect, which were combined with a natural stage presence you just can’t teach, together with an impeccable sense of comic timing. Oh, and a very amusing paint-on moustache! Clearly a young actor with a potentially very bright future. Mention must almost be made of Mairead MacDonald (Bottom/Pyramus), possessed of many of those qualities exhibited by MacAninch , much of which came out in one of the finest “death scenes” I’ve witnessed in that awfully lamentable tragedy of Pyramus and Thisby.
This comes as recommended youth theatre that is well worth seeking out, if only to watch director Shauna Macdonald living every single moment of it in the wings and the cast flooding the streets after the show, hands full of flyers, enthusiastically persuading punters to book tickets for the few remaining performances as, like all Scottish schoolchildren, they head back to the classroom well before the curtain finally comes down on the Fringe.
