A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Sofa Shakespeare)*****

By Megan

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFBe-PSLB74

Available until: Unknown

Sofa Shakespeare is so much fun and A Midsummer Night’s Dream gives actors lots of opportunities to mess around and be funny.

But there are still some really powerful and serious scenes. At the start, one of the Hippolytas seemed to be behind bars. There is probably a really clever reason which I’ve missed because I’m only ten and I miss a lot of things but I was wondering if maybe Hippolyta was a prisoner before her marriage. Theseus says he wooed her with his sword so they would have been fighting on opposite sides.

There is a scene where Theseus and Demetrius are played by pictures but Hermia is a real person. This made me think that Hermia is the only person who is being completely genuine in that scene. She is true to her own feelings. Theseus and Demetrius are thinking more about ‘correct’ behaviour.

I also like Egeus wearing a clown wig. He is a serious character and the scene is performed in a serious way but he is being very silly about Hermia. A lot of actors are wearing pointed ears and wings for the fairies and I think that is brilliant! Everyone should have pointed ears and wings.

All the actors have clever ideas and some must need so much preparation. One wrote emails between the characters which we got to read. Puck goes to a lot of trouble to create the love spell and it’s really interesting to watch.

At the start of Act 3 there is a brilliant scene where one person plays all the Mechanicals. I think she is Julie Baber and she is so good! I love the ways she performs the characters and uses the camera to create different effects.

There’s a really funny moment when Bottom asks for a calendar and gets something else. I don’t want to spoil the surprise by saying what it is. There’s also a good Mechanicals scene where Quince strides about waving his arms like a real director, Flute has a lovely purple dress and Bottom has a brilliant ass’s head. There’s a really clever dog who circles Bottom slowly, examining him from all angles.

One of my favourite scenes is when Lysander tells Hermia he doesn’t love her anymore. It’s really sad but the actors perform the scene so well. The scene where Demetrius tells Helena he loves her is really beautiful too. (That’s probably not too much of a spoiler if you don’t know the play. Everyone is making declarations of love all over the wood.)

In the Mechanicals’ play, there are some brilliant Walls. The lines are spoken brilliantly by human actors and there’s a really funny scene where Pyramus uses his fridge for the wall, searching the shelves for Thisbe.

As usual there are some really talented children. There is a little Lysander who is really good near the start. There’s also a child playing the Indian Boy Oberon and Titania fight over. The child is fascinated with Titania’s earring, then he decides he’s fed up with being held so he starts struggling. Maybe he wants to be with Oberon! There’s also a little Egeus with a sword and shield and an adorable little Hippolyta.

In one of the final scenes, a lady reads part of the prologue with a child on her lap. I might have counted the scenes wrong but I think this is Julia Giolzetti who invented Sofa Shakespeare which would make her baby Rosalind. One of my aunties is called Rosalind. Her baby is named after Iago’s wife Emilia. I have a sister called Imogen and if I have a baby girl I am going to call her Jessica and that’s Shakespeare too!

As usual there are lots of lovely animals to see. Hermia is played by a dog with a beautiful purple collar. I love the way she’s looking away from Lysander at first like she’s not too sure about his idea that they should run away. But then she turns to look at him when he mentions marriage!

Demetrius and Helena appear as cats. I can see why Helena wants to chase Demetrius, he is gorgeous! But Helena has the most beautiful green eyes. Later, there’s a black cat who plays Theseus and he’s SO superior.

I love Starveling and Snout as guinea pigs, they are so cute! Snug is a human wearing a mask and a helmet in that scene and Bottom is a suit which is hung up with an ass’s head on the top. He’s not an ass at that point in the story but maybe he is behaving like one?

Bottom and Quince are played by rabbits. The Bottom rabbit is quite scary. Rabbits look cute but they can be quite difficult to control. There is also a duck (just for you, Lottie!) and a goat.

There are lots of lovely toys too. There is a scene set under the sea where Theseus is a fish and Hermia is a turtle. Quince, Puck, and the lovers are all played by Barbies at some point. Lysander, Hermia and Helena are played by elephants and Hermia is the little elephant. There are also some adorable little foxes and a polecat and a gorgeous monkey sitting in the dandelions. A Titania has a real flowery bed with a cuddly donkey and Puck is in the tree and Oberon is a man with a brilliant costume. There’s also a very interesting scene where Egeus is a person and Theseus is a puppet, who is held by Egeus. I suppose Theseus is Egeus’ puppet at first because he does what Egeus wants. There are even cuddly pumpkins! Lego doesn’t appear till Act 5 but it’s worth the wait!

And of course there are scenes where the characters are played by real items of food. Lysander, Hermia and Helena are played by yellow vegetables. I really like this idea but I would be worried. I don’t think I’d be able to eat a vegetable if I’d given it a name.