12:38 Midsummer Night's Dream

Day 12 of 38:38
A Midsummer Night's Dream

Re-reading A Midsummer Night's Dream is like spending the night with a former lover -- full of so many remembered enjoyments. This play certainly doesn't need my word to convince anyone of its quality. There has been enough written about that. So instead, I will talk about the two aspects I don't like about this play. Really they are more issues I have in performance that straight from the text.

1. Theseus and Hippolyta. Dear directors -- just because their parts are small doesn't mean they have to be BORING. For some reason, productions seem to ignore these parts, especially when they are doubled with Oberon and Titania. Yes, I will grant you that Shakespeare has underwritten these parts, but frankly there are lots of lords in the history plays and that doesn't mean any of them are allowed to be boring either. Especially since Shakespeare is naming these characters after mythological characters. Theseus and Hippolyta had the blood of gods running in them, they were warriors, they were conquerors; so you can make them many things, but boring is not one of them.

I also want to comment on the two general ways of playing Hippolyta. The first, that she is happy to be with Theseus (at least until he screws up the whole Hermia thing). The second, that she is a prisoner of way and hates Theseus. I've even heard of productions that bring her out in a cage. Now I'm all for going dark, and sometimes you can convince me that going against the text is a good thing, but I do want to point out that textually, I really think the first way is the way to go. What evidence do I have? Speak her lines out loud. Shakespeare was a master of sounds.

Four days will quickly steep themselves in night
Four nights will quickly dream away the time

Try saying that while angry, or through clenched teeth. You just can't. There are two many long sounds: the "ay" in day, "ee" in steep, the m's, the n's, "dream away the time" That phrase is just so caressing, making an actor play Hippolyta as a captive, or angry is just making her have to work twice as hard. I am not saying you can't make that choice. I just think you need to be away of what you are doing.

2. The mechanicals. Blech. I know, for most people the mechanicals are their favorite parts of the play. But it's well-known among my friends that I have a personal, strong dislike of clown characters. And this is never so much evident to me as in Midsummer Night's Dream, and with Bottom. Now again, clown characters are something I object to more on the stage than on the page. Here's why. I think it is quite, quite difficult to find actors who can play these roles well. Too often the actor knows that he or she is the "funny" character, and so plays with this awareness. He or she works to be "funny." And this always ruins it for me. And Bottoms (and Dogberrys) are the most frequent offenders. Stop trying to be funny! Just play your objective! The funny will take care of itself.

Since I spoke briefly about different possible characterizations of Hippolyta, I will do the same with Bottom. The prevailing opinion is that Bottom is ultimately a likeable fellow, that he has a good soul. This is the Bottom that Kevin Kline plays (and quite successfully). It's the Bottom that Harold Bloom believes in (even if he takes it too far). This way works very well. However, I wish I could have seen the production that the American Shakespeare Center did where John Harrell played Bottom. I didn't, but I listened to him speak about the role in their podcast. He said that he knows everyone gets behind the "good soul" Bottom, but he tried doing something different. So he played the character as that obnoxious guy we all know. Harrell points out the number of ass references - Bottom's name, he gets turned into an ass, there are lots of ass jokes, etc. So Harrell tried to come up with what our modern idea of an "ass" is and play Bottom that way, as a, as Harrell puts it, "douche-bag arts student."

I mentioned Kevin Kline's turn as Bottom, so I wanted to also say that I actually have seen all the major film versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Five or six of them, I think? Anyway, my favorite is the 1968 version stuffed full of amazing actors. Because it is so old, the film is not the clearest, but who cares? Seriously, Diana Rigg, David Warner, Ian Richardson, Ian Holm, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench... Seek it out if you haven't seen it yet.

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Favorite Female Character:
Helena (I think I've just always fancied two men fighting over me in a forest)
Favorite Male Character:
Puck

"That's what she said!":
Thisbe My cherry lips have often kissed they stones,
Thy stones with lime and hair knit up in thee.

How insulting:
Lysander Get you gone, you dwarf
You minimus of hindering knot-grass made
You bead, you acorn!

Oh, misogyny:
Theseus What say you, Hermia? Be advised, fair maid
To you your father should be as a god

Boys are silly:
Hermia I swear to thee...
By all the vows that ever men have broke--
In number more than ever women spoke--

Favorite Moment/Line:
Oberon Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in