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The Handlebards' irresistibly charming outdoor shenanigans will win over the most cynical and jaded of audiences. Summary
Rating
Excellent
Over the years I’ve thought of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as many things but actually being funny has rarely been one of them. Mention it in my earshot and, unprompted, I’m likely to launch into an animated monologue explaining why we should leave 418-year-old jokes alone. Surely, if we’re cancelling old-school comedians, the Bard should, well, be barred. And yet, as I rage, up pop The Handlebards with a travelling production that proves me categorically wrong. It’s almost annoying.
For a decade now, the touring-by-pedal-power company has been sharing their jaunty brand of small-scale outdoor shows internationally. Key to their success is the fact they don’t rely on audiences knowing Shakespeare, or even, like your reviewer, necessarily being a fan. They’re not knowingly commenting on the work or cleverly referencing previous incarnations. They’re hurling themselves at it anew, full pelt, and inviting you along for the ride. This means you can forget those self-aware faux sniggers that generations of English teachers have made to prove a point to disgruntled students. Here, the laughter is genuine. This Dream, which I caught on its first London outing, is a wholly joyful affair. It’s not afraid to say bottoms are hilarious, love and lovers are ridiculous and a fairy called Mustard Seed is probably going to be French. Not enjoy it? That would be shameful, like shooting a puppy or cancelling Christmas.
Irresistible feel-good entertainment, of course, doesn’t happen by accident. The cast of four works ridiculously hard to make us merry. Doubts (along with subtlety and nuance to be fair) are steamrollered by a combination of big, broad cartoonish choices, boundless enthusiasm, neat timing and well-drilled choreography. The plot remains intact. The verse too. Every word and intention is clear. Given we are in the open air with no amplification, this is a feat in itself.
George Attwell Gerhards opens proceedings as Theseus, Duke of Athens. His wife-to-be, Hippolyta, is gamely played by an audience volunteer. It’s that kind of show, we’re told. Alex Crook, in an impressive professional debut, begins as Lysander to Jenny Smith’s Hermia. The two play adolescent hipster kids in love. It’s all nauseatingly cute. Fortunately, Meredith Lewis cuts through their nonsense as heartbroken Helena. She almost steals the show from the get-go with stroppy, sulky exaggerated exits that, as with all good clowning, defy all logic and explanation. She just has funny bones.
This is merely the opening setup, mind you. The actors multi-role through the rest of the play at a frenetic pace. It is interesting to see Amalia Vitale credited as a ‘comedy and movement director’ alongside, one presumes, more traditional director Nel Crouch. Their seamless results reach peak silliness as Hermia dreams of snakes, but to say more ruins a delightful surprise. There is a myriad of other highlights including the Mechanicals who, here, become a needy youth theatre group with confidence and competence issues. We’re royally entertained by it all until Smith’s schoolboy Puck brings the show to a close. She sends us off into the night, perchance to dream of fairies.
I haven’t changed my opinion on Shakespeare altogether, but for now, all is mended.
Written by: William Shakespeare
Directed by: Nel Crouch
Design by: Harry Pizzey
Composed & Musical Direction by: Guy Hughes
Comedy & Movement Direction by: Amalia Vitale
Produced by: Tom Dixon & Paul Moss
The Handlebards’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream is on tour throughout the UK until Saturday 9 September. Full details of dates and venues can be found here.
