Low Down

An stunning portrayal of Shakespeare’s most popular comedy, this multinational travelling company immerse you totally in the world of the faeries’ forest. Every little detail is exquisite, from the music – played live – to the puppetry, the masks, the slightly ad-libbed dialogue which takes Shakespeare and really runs with it, the mime, the dancing; absolutely everything is spectacular, and works in harmony to create a truly hypnotic show.


 

Review

In a circus tent at the top of Calton Hill, at the foot of that strange cylindrical tower that can be seen from almost anywhere in the city, there is magic afoot. Footsbarn, an international travelling company based in France, has honed its performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for nearly sixteen years, and the result is nothing short of sorcery.

Music accompanies the movements of every character and is pin-perfectly choreographed down to each footstep, and each character has his or her own musical signature. Lysander and Demetrius are portrayed as strutting cockerels. A playful oboe accompanies them as they enter in masks and squawk aggressively at each other. The regal Duke makes his decree wearing an ornate horned headdress, and Hermia and Lysander make their plans to fly the city.

The Rude Mechanicals are portrayed as adorable grotesques, all buck-teeth and straw for hair, and are played stunningly well by the ensemble cast. The way this production has been structured makes it easily accessible for all ages; the front seats around which the characters amble were filled with very young children, who uttered nothing but audible gasps of wonder throughout the whole two hour performance.

The production values, as can be expected from a full-scale travelling company, are exceedingly high. The masks are ornate and beautifully crafted, as is the set, which centres around a knarled tree whose branches form a platform from which Oberon commands and on which Titania slumbers.

The Faerie Queene’s bower is a sumptuous, and to the adults at least, deeply symbolic opening flower lined with scarlet velvet, into which she drags the protesting Bottom. The music is absolutely magical, an oboe, a viola and a sitar are played expertly, giving the production an atmosphere of otherworldly beauty. The company, based in France, boasts a truly international cast, and the production had influences from all over the world contributing to a tremendous medley of performance.

I was absolutely mesmerised. The production not only creates a stunning spectacle, it brings the Shakespeare to life like few other performances I’ve seen. The Rude Mechanicals are absolutely brilliant, developing a touching rapport with the children in the front row while entertaining the adults just as much with hilarious political asides and sexual innuendoes. I thought they were absolutely wonderful. Special mention is deserved by Helena, whose performance was nothing short of electrifying; the whole audience, from infants to grandparents, hung on her every expression.

My one and only qualm with the production is that some of my favourite lines in the play had been removed, but this is minor griping; while I certainly wouldn’t have minded that an unabridged version would have run for at least three hours, perhaps more, it is possible that some of the youngest members of the audience would have found it difficult to cope. Footsbarn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream is nothing less than two hours of absolute undiluted joy.
 

Reviewed by N Woolf 10 August 2008

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Footsbarn