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| Cast |
| Theseus | Barry Jennings |
| Egeus | Tony Otton |
| Lysander | Colin Townsley |
| Demetrius | Paul Jennings |
| Philostrate | Oliver Cornerney |
| Quince | David Hampton |
| Bottom | Bob Lacey |
| Flute | John King |
| Snout | Tony Donnelly |
| Starveling | Brian Warner |
| Snug | Graham Corbould |
| Hippolyta | Pat Day |
| Hermia | Patricia Robertson |
| Helena | Gillian Leggat |
| Oberon | Neal Flux |
| Titania | Gillian Rafferty |
| Puck | Nicky Corfield |
| Pease-Blossom | Christine Milkins |
| Cobweb | Janet Felisiak |
| Moth | Shirley Andrews |
| Mustardseed | Beverley Seeley |
| Crew | |
| Stage Manager | Glenys English |
| Assistant Stage Managers | Pearl Ayling, Shirley Jacobs, Jean Franks, Erica Bartley |
| Costumes | Christine Milkins |
| Lighting | Nick Felisiak, Toby Moore, George Robinson, Peter Meehan |
| Sound | Bill Ayling, Marilyn Matthews, Sandra Southee |
| Original Music | Janet Felisiak |
Review
Bringing a dream to life
Barely, unless performed by a professional company, does a Shakespeare play come across as more than an incomprehensible flow of flowery verses. Too often the untrained ear is left to wonder at the meaning of poetic phrases, and at the end of the performance you come away saying: "I never did understand Shakespeare."
So full marks go to Bexleyheath's Edward Alderton Theatre for producing a version of A Midsummer Night's Dream where every sentence had meaning, where the true magic of the play was captured completely and where even Shakespeare's most ardent opponent would have enjoyed himself.
Success hinged on interpretation and an insistence on giving substance to the dialogue.
It was evident that Steve Marshall's work as an English teacher played a large part in giving him the necessary understanding of Shakespeare to direct in a lucid and original style. He obviously knew what the Elizabethan dramatist was saying and was able to brief his cast so that they left the audience with a clear understanding of the dreamy work.
Apart from the acting, two things which stood out in last week's production were the costumes and the amazing use of the whole theatre. For the first time, Steve Marshall used every inch of the theatre, by making characters storm through the audience on entrance and exit, and by seating them next to the audience in the last scene. This, although disconcerting at first, effectively drew the audience into the play, making them part of the 'Dream'.
Mr Marshall chose plain costumes for the cast in symbolically distinctive colours. The lovers were dressed in pure white, the King and Queen in red and blue, and the lower class players in brown and yellow. It had the necessary effect.
With an entirely bare stage, the actors and actresses needed to give credible performances to lure the audience into the play. The fairies — given form by their gold and silver makeup — glided about the stage in light, graceful movements. Titania (Gillian Rafferty) was elegantly regal.
Oberon (Neal Flux) was domineering and majestic — an obvious leader in his world. Certainly the most attractive figure in the play is the impish Puck. His menacing mischievousness was delightfully captured by Nicky Corfield. Using her naturally expressive face to the full, she was every inch an ebullient fairy, carried into mistakes by enthusiasm.
The best comedy scenes in the play involve the hopeless actors vainly trying to produce a play for the King's wedding. Performances from Bob Lacey as Bottom, David Hampton as Peter Quince, and Tony Donnelly as Snout were all comical.
Bottom, extremely over-confident about his acting ability, looked idiotic in his ass's head and generally acting as king-pin of his group, was extremely amusing. Quince was beautifully incompetent and Snout as the wall had a fine command of comic expression. The lovers — Lysander (Colin Townsley), Demetrius (Paul Jennings), Hermia (Patricia Robertson) and Helena (Gillian Leggat) all gave good performances. Their "violent" scenes could have been real, judging by the gasps of horror from the audience.
The theatre can be justly proud of their first venture into Shakespeare.
CT
Bexley Times | 14 April 19774 April 1977
