Iris Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream reimagines the Shakespearean comedy using the tropes of American high school and college films, drawing inspiration from noughties pop culture to arrive at a fun and accessible summer show. Taking place at St Paul’s Church in the heart of Covent Garden, the promenade production uses the space well, bringing audiences on a literal journey that enables the cast to break up the denser portions of text and carry the fast pace of the narrative.
The show begins in the bar, with the appearance of the magnetic Ailsa Joy as Puck. Her energy, charm and hyper-expressive face are standout, as she eases the audience into the production’s clique-based conceit and sets up the element of audience participation, which is intelligently used throughout to engage the audience and bring a sense of communal playfulness to the piece. In this production, Helena and Hermia have become cheerleaders, Demetrius and Lysander are jocks, Oberon and Titania are punks, and Bottom et al are the dorks of Athens Academy’s glee club. It’s an inherently comical twist, with these classic Americanisms juxtaposing absurdly with the Shakespearean dialogue and the British accents of the cast. Suddenly we are venturing “beyond the bleachers” and heading to prom. Does it hold up under scrutiny? Not really. The characters are simultaneously attending their high school prom and are members of university sororities/fraternities; the power dynamics between Oberon and Puck don’t make sense; and the eclectic cultural mash up is akin to that of Netflix hit series Sex Education.
The key, however, is that it doesn’t matter. It’s fun to see Zena Carswell flick between references as she changes from character to character – from Cher Horowitz to the drama teacher in High School Musical. It’s outrageously entertaining to watch Ricky Oakley as Starveling ham up the undervalued theatre kid act. And it’s delightful to hear a child in the audience laugh with glee because they recognise a Harry Potter reference. This isn’t a production designed to add to the scholarly discourse around Shakespeare; it’s a show to be enjoyed in the present, in the warmth of summer and with good company. Importantly – and to its great strength – it is also a show that has the potential to reach those who have never felt engaged by a Shakespeare play before.
This production uses simple but creative solutions to make the show more accessible whilst retaining its magic. All cast members are careful with their intonation and enunciation, making it far easier to follow the basic thread of the narrative even when the text is at its most dense, which is a credit to director Sara Aniqah Malik. With some careful use of sound design (by Julian Starr), movement (by Kwami Odoom) and a handful of coloured powder, the enchanted flower comes to life in Puck’s hand. The intensity and passion of the four lovers becomes relatable in the context of teenage crushes, particularly during the prom scene when Hermia (Melissa Parker) and Lysander (Freddy Elletson) moon at one another over the shoulders of their dance partners. The macho rivalry of Lysander and Demetrius (Ricky Oakley) begins to feel like a parody of cliched love triangles and jock stereotypes.
The spirit of Shakespeare’s narrative remains but the new framing gives audiences little footholds within the show, that help to anchor us in the plot, sympathise with the characters, and really revel in the comedy of it all – without pretension.