Reviewed by Louise Watts
What could be nicer on a warm summer evening than sitting outside in the fresh air watching Shakespeare? I hear some children groaning… ”Shakespeare is boring”, “Shakespeare is hard to understand”. This may be your experience so far, but I promise you that you will feel completely different once you have seen Shakespeare performed “This is my theatre” style.
I attended the outdoor theatre last night at The Hawth in Crawley with my 13-year-old daughter to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She has been studying this at school so was very familiar with the storyline. I on the other hand was not. She had briefed me before we went but to be honest, I couldn’t quite get my head round who loved who as it all seemed very confusing!
We settled down in the open air on our picnic mat with our food and drinks and prepared for the show. The set was beautiful outside and consisted of very little props. From the minute the show started with angelic singing, I was smitten. The cast comprised of only 6 actors and each one played more than one part. I thought I may struggle to keep up but that was not the case and it was easy to follow who was in which role at all times.
The story revolves around 4 main characters who are in a bit of a love triangle to be honest. Hermia and Lysander are in love but Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius who loves Hermia but is loved by Helena…. are you keeping up?
Then throw a few fairies into the mix in the way of Puck, Titania and Oberon and you have a story! All 6 actors were incredible but the 2 that stood out most for me were Madelyn Smedley who played Helena and Andy Colter who played Puck. Helena was absolutely outstanding and added some incredible comedy moments. Puck was an incredible violinist as well as being amazing in role and showed considerable talent for someone so young. The winner of the best facial expressions though had to go to Ethan Taylor in his role as the Ass. Absolutely hilarious!!
The story was told using some traditional Shakespearean language combined with some very modern words which was brilliant to watch! There were also songs and music to accompany the dialogue. It was incredibly easy to follow, and my favourite part had to be when Demetrius and Lysander are fighting over Helena. The acting was brilliant, and it was clear that the cast were enjoying every minute.
The actors were mingling through the audience and involved them very closely at times which just added that extra element of humour and familiarity.
The show was around 1 hour 30 minutes with no interval which was perfect to tell the story in enough depth but keep it easy to understand. Drinks and snacks were available from within the main theatre but you were welcome to bring your own too and make an evening of it.
I would thoroughly recommend this to everybody, young and old not just as a show but a whole evening out. It was absolutely outstanding – Shakespeare at its best!!
Rating: 5/5
For more information and tour dates visit www.thisismytheatre.com.
For other shows at The Hawth in Crawley visit hawth.co.uk or call the box office on 01293 553636.
The Hawth, Hawth Avenue, Crawley, Sussex, RH10 6YZ | 01293 553636
