Midsummer! Is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The original play is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known. It has been adapted and revived on numerous occasions. It has been filmed for the screen, and features on many a High School curriculum.
Here, adapter Jeff Whitty, who won a Tony Award for writing Avenue Q, has taken the original Shakespearean language, and added some more modern flourishes. Whilst some passages from the original text are reproduced verbatim, others have been tinkered with.
It is not clear if this is to make the language more accessible, or if Whitty is trying to convey notions of class and hierarchy through this. The changes also mean that some of the original puns are lost in translation.
We open in what appears to possibly be the Edwardian era, based on the costumes being worn. The programme tells us that we are in Pittsburgh, in America, in the Gilded Age: that twenty year period which stretched from the late 1870s to the late 1890s.
It is unfortunate that this is a specific time period which is not particularly well-known outside of America. In the United Kingdom, the same time is talked of as being ‘the late Victorian Era’, and there are fundamental differences between the societies and lived experiences in those two countries.
It is also unclear that we are supposed to be in Pittsburgh specifically. Again, this may be because this is a location which is not particularly well-known in the UK.
The dialogue in the performance also still refers to the action of the play taking place in ‘Athens’ – and there did not appear to be any overt indication within the staging that we were in Pittsburgh.
Here, nine actors play all of the various roles. Whilst ‘doubling’ – an actor taking on two (or more) roles within a production – is usual, here, the choices of which roles will be played by which one actor are often very interesting.
It is usual, in any adaptation of this play, for the actor who plays Theseus to also play Oberon, the King of the Fairies. Likewise, the actor who plays Hippolyta will also play Titania, the Queen of the Fairy Realm.
The issue with this, is that later in the play, Titania, is tricked into falling in love with a ridiculous human being – Bottom the Weaver – who has been disguised by having his head transformed to resemble a donkey.
It has been deemed problematic that Titania is tricked in this way, and coerced into behaviour, especially sexual behaviour, that she would not engage with if she was completely aware of her circumstances.
Different productions have attempted to tackle this in various ways. The most well-known recent change is to ‘gender-flip’ who gets drugged. The Bridge Theatre in London chose this approach in their 2019 production, and it worked superbly.
Here, the Fairy roles of Titania and Oberon have been flipped. Jakai-Nyasia plays Hippolyta and Oberon, Siahvash Marshall plays Theseus and Titania. This is a really interesting choice, and it would have been nice to have seen this explored some more.
The part-modernisation of the language does allow for some other issues to be confronted directly, Helena’s appalling lack of self-esteem when she all but throws herself at Demetrius in the woods is, rightly, lamp-shaded. But this is done so quickly that nothing else changes.
This show is being performed in the Bijou Spiegeltent, relocated to Assembly Saint Andrew Square. There is a clever use of the space, as all the actors, in their various roles, are in constant motion both within the central performance area, and the surrounding walkways.
The production contains some music, as is often the case in Shakespearean productions – a choice which is authentic to the original text. There does not seem to be a specific music style, although the rude mechanicals are presented as archetypal ‘Hill Billies’.
There are a lot of interesting ideas on display here, but it just feels like something is lacking overall. It’s not clear whether this is because of the language choices, or the sheer weight of multi-roling the actors are undertaking. Perhaps it’s that the whole thing feels very controlled, perhaps almost subdued?
That said, the ‘play within the play’ of Pyramus and Thisbe is genuinely hilarious, and very well-paced. Rusty Daniel’s interpretation of Bottom as Pyramus dying for his love is a brilliant example of comedic timing, and Suri Noelle’s Thisbe proves a strong match for him.
Indeed, all of the actors are fully engaged, and giving great performances. Some of the young talent on display here is sure to become more well-known in future years.
This show has a lot of promise, and could be developed into a really interesting version of one of Shakespeare’s most loved plays. Currently, the production needs to be given time to see what it can become, and we’d be intrigued to see a future version of this adaptation.
Where to Watch Midsummer!
Midsummer! continues in Bijou at Assembly Saint Andrew Square, at 12:30 daily until August 19th (not 12th)
Brig’s full coverage of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe is available here.
Featured Image courtesy of CMU New Works
