A Midsummer Night’s Dream Mayflower Theatre Review
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
28-31 May 2014
Reviewed by Kerri Chard
David Nixon OBE has done it again. Having created a number of award winning adaptations of highly recognisable stories such as Cinderella, the Greta Gatsby and Madame Butterfly, David is no stranger to delivering crowd pleasing productions, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream is another triumph.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream was created back in 2003 when it also received an Olivier nomination. It has since become on the of the Northern Ballet’s most popular productions. David was attracted to adapting Shakespeare’s play for dance because of its humour. He quite rightly points out that finding a comedy that translates to dance is difficult to find, and I can imagine that it must have been a real challenge trying to portray the comedy moments purely through movement. I am pleased to say that this was successfully done and really made the entire show a new experience for a seasoned ballet spectator like me.
The well-known story is told in 3 acts, motivated by the ambitiously imaginative set changes designed by Duncan Hayler. The ingenious transformations between the black and white of the everyday and the charming colourful dream world really help to tell the story, especially if you are unfamiliar.
The first act sees the dance company preparing for a rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet and preparing for an overnight journey to their next touring engagement aboard the Flying Scotsman. Duncan’s clever set design received a round of applause during act 1 as the train seemed to pull out of the station. But the stand out performance during act 1 for me was by Martha Leebolt dancing as Hippolyta. A vision and an artist, her stunning and mesmerising portrayal of a principal dancer being forced to retire by her lover and Artistic Director was extremely poignant.
A twenty minute interval before act 2 allowed me time to have a quick chat with a Northern Ballet representative about the production and the tour. I really got the impression that David Nixon and indeed the whole cast and team were passionate about interpreting the comical elements of the story as they were very keen to find out whether I thought this was coming across and were quick to assure me that act 2 promised much more comedy to come. I was pleased to tell them that their efforts were a success so far. I was also informed of a 3 little pigs production that the Northern Ballet was staging on Friday 30 June at the Mayflower Theatre in order to provide young children with an introduction to ballet. What a brilliant idea. The company was selling tickets for only a couple of pounds enabling everyone the opportunity to bring their children along. I really hope to see more of this in the future and applaud Northern Ballet.
Act 2: The set has transformed in to what is clearly the background of a dream world. A floating space ship certainly wouldn’t be at home on this set for any other purpose. There are also a couple of floating beds which are used to introduce character’s dreams at pivotal moments to ensure the audience is effortlessly taken along with what is in truth a very complicated love story. The majority of music pieces are played throughout act 2, beautifully arranged by John Longstaff to sound as consistent and continuous as possible. The music chosen to accompany the story with its dramatic context married the lyricism and passionate movements admirably. The stand out performance in act 2 was given by Nicola Gervasi dancing as Robin Puck the Ballet Master. Nicola is a true talent in my eyes. Clearly an accomplished dancer, I couldn’t take my eyes off him when he was on stage. In act 2 the wardrobe team’s creations are a real spectacle. Credit to Phil Reynolds and Amanda Hall for the outstanding work put into creating alluring and beautiful costumes for the more mystically clad male dancers in act 2 and our thanks to the entire wardrobe department for their wonderful and thoughtful costuming for the whole production.
A quick interval and set change takes us neatly into act 3 to conclude the story and the show. Back to normality the dancers are celebrating a successful performance of Romeo and Juliet as well as the end of some very complicated relationship trials and tribulations. Here we really see the ballet’s more traditional dance performances, a real show of the company’s dancer collective, thus a delightful ending for ballet connoisseurs.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a hard story to follow if you are not already intimate with all of its characters and complicated love triangles so you will be forgiven for leaving a little baffled despite the Northern Ballet’s best efforts. We promise that you will not be disappointed though, as for all of Northern Ballet’s endeavours they deliver a stunning and entertaining ballet for all. For those of us that know the story, I applaud the company for its original adaptation.
A triumphant combination of wit and elegance, Northern Ballet’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream deserves every standing ovation it receives.
Thank you to the Mayflower Theatre Southampton for being such a wonderful host. This is the first time the Northern ballet has performed at the Mayflower in their 45 year history. I very much hope that they will be returning soon and often.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £14 to £35 (plus booking fee).
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton until Saturday 31 May 2014. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 02380 711811.
Mayflower Theatre, Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1GE | 02380 711811
