21 – 30 March

Any reviewer of stage productions will often return to the same fundamental questions about theatre: what is it about drama which keeps us going back? Why do we willingly invest whole afternoons and evenings of our lives watching performers on a stage? Why is there something so beguiling about seeing stories played out on a stage in front of us that means we find ourselves repeatedly drawn to this artistic form? Perhaps it is the universal, timeless appeal of storytelling which traces its roots back to the oral traditions of the earliest human societies…? Perhaps it is our willing suspension of our own lives, our troubles, trials and tribulations so that we can immerse ourselves temporarily in those of other characters…? Perhaps it is the collective, immersive experience which connects audiences so intimately with flesh-and-blood actors on a stage just a matter of feet away….?

One man who seemed to know and understand the answers to these questions better than anyone else was William Shakespeare. The Everyman Theatre have taken “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, one of his most popular and widely-performed plays, tweaked and Tweedied it, and added their own sprinkling of magical stardust.

Adaptor and director Paul Milton’s latest work is largely a ‘Tweedy Does Shakespeare’ experience. In truth, there is no other play by the Bard which is better suited to Tweedy’s celebrated brand of physical comedy and slapstick tomfoolery, and he excels in the role of the boorish but well-intentioned Nick Bottom. At times it does feel like the show is a vehicle for Tweedy to showcase the skills which have endeared him to so many fans over the years, but he is, in so many ways, the perfect Shakespearean fool, with his panto-esque antics going down very well with this evening’s audience. I am sure Will Kemp, Shakespeare’s famous clown, would have wholeheartedly approved. And yet, somewhat surprisingly to me, this is Tweedy’s first ever Shakespearean role. It has been well worth the wait.

This is an enchanting journey into a magical world of fairies and dreams, set and imaginatively lit in a simple but visually beautiful Athenian scene, and illuminated, in some cases literally, by some incredible costumes. This opening night performance was surprisingly slick, not just because the very talented Ross Telfer was a superb stand-in for Thomas Nelstrop’s Demetrius, but also because Laura Noble is fabulously versatile as Helena/Flute/Mustardseed, Oliver Brooks wonderful as Lysander, Natalie Winsor is a luminous Titania, and Jeremy Stockwell – reunited with Tweedy after 2019’s wonderful “Waiting for Godot” – adds charm and warmth as a suitably mischievous Puck. In truth, the whole ensemble are strong, their collective roles showcasing their diversity – acting, singing, movement and dance, physical comedy and their ability to switch seamlessly between multiple personae.

So leave those troubles, trials and tribulations of the real world at the theatre door, and immerse yourself in a journey to Shakespeare’s magical realm. Because in reviewing the show this evening, I was joined by over a hundred students from the school where I also teach. When a Year 7 boy, studying and watching a Shakespeare play for the first time, tells you the performance was “sick”, you know you’ve seen a great production –  in the urban dictionary, “sick” means “outstanding or amazingly impressive”. There can be no better endorsement.

★★★★★  Tony Clarke, 24 March

Photo credit: Thousand Word Media