THERE is nothing that quite prepares you for being in the action of a play, but from the minute I stepped into the cockpit theatre at Shakespeare North that’s exactly what happened.
The venue’s impressive first Shakespeare performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Warrington based company Not Too Tame hit all the marks.
The interpretation of the iconic play was modern, intense, and brought an age-old story swiftly into this century.
Firstly Nadine Shah, playing the role of Titania is incredible, her voice is one that left goosebumps up the arms of many an audience member.
However, it was the unexpected combination of regional working-class accents, British Sign Language (BSL) and the mix of Elizabethan dress with 21st century clothing that really made it a success for me.
On arrival you are immediately met with a situation whereas the security guard (seemingly for Shakespeare North) explains that cast members haven’t turned up and seemingly members of the audience and staff volunteer for roles in the play.
This adds to the hilarity of the comedy with fantastic performances from Jimmy Fairhurst as security guard/Bottom and Louise Haggerty as a mac and trainers wearing Puck.
The play within a play within a play narrative added to the feel of the performance, pulling the audience in from the start.
Lysander was played brilliantly and eloquently by William Grint, who is a deaf actor and whose part used only BSL.
Only parts of his character’s speech were spoken by other actors, who did it so naturally that after a while it – quite rightly – it became just part of the wider performance and didn’t distract in any way, if anything it added, to the relationships built on the stage.
His full body performance and expression meant that the audience could follow his meaning, his adoration of Hermia, misled and potion filled infatuation with Helena and fury with Demetrius all became clear.
One member of the audience was dragged into the fray on a regular basis, much to the joy of the other audience members, with immediately placed guests being called upon to provide dancing, music and in one instance Dominoes box holding duties.
The space itself is second to none, the hatch doors, the candle chandeliers and the audience space were used to full effect immersing all in the room within the story.
Shakespeare for all his genius has had his works interpreted in many ways over the years, and this fresh take on an iconic play in the new cockpit theatre, is a fantastic, ambitious and joyous transformation worthy of the title of first of its kind performed at what is already shaping out to be a landmark venue.
On a personal note, it was my first evening out post baby and what a night it was, when you go somewhere expecting one thing and are met with another even better event it can leave you confused, but in this case it left us both wanting more and proud to have this venue on our doorstep – and of the babysitting duties carried out by family.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here