"On one night of every year, the boundary between the daylight and twilight worlds is thin as air."
Shown as a stage play but uses excessive camera tricks to display a colorful version that still keeps iambic pentameter. At least it is not one of those present-day versions that force Shakespeare into contemporary clothing.
Only occasionally moving a play to a different time or place can it keep its magic. This presentation is of no real-time or place but seems to have borrowed from the junk leftover from previous plays, containing part stage and part Victorian England, with a dash of Alice in Wonderland.
Lots of nice colors and music. However, everyone goes around kissing everyone but the person they should be kissing; you can call it artistic license but I call it a distraction for the purpose or base story. For those people that do not like the introduction of bicycles and nudity as in another version, take heart as there is no nudity or bicycles. The bicycles are replaced with Mary Poppin's type of umbrellas. O. K. I lied there is the E. T. bicycle scene, motorcycles with sidecars motorcycles.
Usually, this tail is played out by well-known actors so I must confess that even though this is the Royal Shakespeare Company production I do not recognize anyone.
One big missing part is where Nick Bottom is transferred into a donkey. Too bad as that is one of the best parts. He just pops up with ears and teeth. That is like showing Hamlet without Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
You need to watch any other production before this one as "Who would not change a raven for a dove?"
Presented by the "Royal Shakespeare Company"
Starring:
Lindsay Duncan as Hippolyta/Titania
Alex Jennings as Theseus/Oberon
Desmond Barrit as Nick Bottom
Barry Lynch as Puck/Philostrate
The Lovers:
Hermia - Monica Dolan
Demetrius - Kevin Doyle
Lysander - Daniel Evans
Helena - Emily Raymond
Egeus - Alfred Burke
The boy - Osheen Jones.
