There's been a lot of Dreaming in the past week. The RSC has just conducted a thrilling excursion into the enchanted Athenian forest, as has the Royal Ballet. Now comes the Globe where Jonathan Munby’s production, though perfectly serviceable, is never entirely gripping, except when Paul Hunter’s boisterous Bottom steals the Pyramus and Thisbe show.
The more Dreams I see, the more I am convinced that the key character is the wood itself, that transformative place outside the city, suspended somewhere between reality and imagination. Disappointingly, Munby and his team fail to convey forcefully enough the notion that nothing will be the same after a night spent alfresco. The fairies don’t give sufficient sense of imposing their will — either for good or ill — on their surroundings and we’re left unconvinced that Titania (Siobhan Redmond) and Oberon (Tom Mannion) could run a teashop, let alone a fairy kingdom.
The predominant visual metaphor works a treat. The Athenian court is all stiff black period dress, yet the fresh air sees the lovers become, in every sense, less buttoned-up. Lighter coloured under-layers are revealed, which are far less constricting for a beautifully choreographed scene of escalating mayhem, when Pippa Nixon’s feisty Hermia finds herself savagely rounded upon.
The rough and ready mechanicals best gauge the temperature of this unique space, which means their prevalence in Act Five sends the audience home contented. Not a Dream to remember in the morning, perhaps, but pleasant while it lasts.
In rep until 4 October (020 7401 9919).
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare's Globe
