JAMES WALSH is moved by a provocative and original take on the relationship between ecology and architecture, and a plea to work with, not against, the materials and minerals of our world
Playing as a lark enthuses audience
[Tristram Kenton]
An immersive, participatory display by a queer Australian Aboriginal performer, and a rebellious unravelling of traditional Scottish dance
EWAN CAMERON witnesses a political farce that lacks a clear message
EWAN CAMERON picks out two fascinating music shows, fusing the Korean, and the Celtic, with the modern
BENJAMIN POTHIER suggests that Palaeolithic cave paintings in Spain point to the ceremonial use of hallucinogenic flora
The bard confirms that the right has a humour bypass, and replays the English Revolution on period instruments
Midsummer Nights Dream
The Globe, London
★★★★
IF there is any doubt that A Midsummer Night’s Dream can be played as a lark from start to finish, then this hyperactive Sean Holmes production will put such thoughts to bed.
Delivered with music hall panache throughout, every moment is milked for maximum silliness, while up in the gallery an off-the-wall, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah style band accentuates the absurdities with rude blasts of the tuba, trombone and trumpet.
Jocelyn Jee Esien as Bottom is a Max Milleresque bundle of double (and single) entendre, making an agreeable ass of herself in more ways than one, while Faith Omole as a fiery, sexually charged Hermia provides some of the best moments of outraged, boisterous confusion.
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KEITH RICHMOND relishes a superbly conceived modern version of Aeschylus’ drama of murderous family succession
WILL STONE is frustrated by a performance that chooses to garble the lyrics and drown the songs in reverb
JAN WOOLF is beguiled by the tempting notion that Freud psychoanalysed Hitler in a comedy that explores the vulnerability of a damaged individual