Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Missing the Kew
PETER MASON is unimpressed by an unsubtle production that disregards its woodland setting
KEW JUMPING: Fairies in Theatre on Kew's production of Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Theatre on Kew, Kew gardens, London

 

LOVELY setting, less lovely production. 

With stepladder platforms on stage and maintenance trucks as props, not nearly enough is made of the verdant surrounds of Kew Gardens, and even less of its evening-time botanical atmosphere, which should perfectly suit this fairyland comedy. 

Nothing in the general atmospherics – the set, costumes, lighting, choreography or music – lends any feeling of mystery or magic to the woodland goings-on. 

Save for a bit of space for the actors to run around in, and some nice grass for the audience to sit on, the only realised benefits of staging this play at Kew come when the spotlights occasionally catch the bows of the dark, all-encompassing trees, showing what can be achieved in terms of ambience generation with a bit more thought.

On such a skew-whiff runway, the players of the Australian Shakespeare Company (some of them British for this production) seem to land correspondingly wide of the mark with performances that are generally over-animated and clownish. 

There are modifications in places to bring the language, jokes and incidentals into the modern world, all of which is fine. But at few points does director Glenn Elston allow Shakespeare’s great work to do the heavy lifting.

Instead it’s as if he’s told the cast they’ll have to try their hardest to get the best out of some rather poor material. Microphoned up to the hilt, their loud, shouty contributions, delivered as if to an audience of young children, tip the play from carnivalesque entertainment into unsubtle pantomime.

There’s also too much emphasis on the slapstick play-within-a-play, so that in total the tomfoolery of the Mechanicals relegates the story of the Athenian lovers to something of a sideshow. That wouldn’t necessarily pose a problem, except that most of the over-acting takes part in the Mechanicals’ already hammy domain.

It might be possible to rescue this production by turning the dials down a notch and allowing the Kew breeze to blow away some of its unnecessary heat. Let’s hope some modifications are made, for in its present state it fails to pass muster.

Runs until September 1. Boxoffice: kew.org

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
flam
Dance / 30 May 2025
30 May 2025

PETER MASON is wowed (and a little baffled) by the undeniably ballet-like grace of flamenco

IT'S JUST NOT CRICKET: Protesters demonstrate outside Lord's Cricket Ground in London, on February 25 2025, against England playing Afghanistan in a Champions Trophy match, as female participation in sport has effectively been outlawed in Afghanistan since the Tailban returned to power in 2021
Books / 25 May 2025
25 May 2025

PETER MASON is surprised by the bleak outlook foreseen for cricket’s future by the cricketers’ bible

(L) Mudlark kneels on a rocky shore, collecting objects; (R) Medieval pilgrim badge. Pics © London Museum
Exhibitions / 22 April 2025
22 April 2025

PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river

POWER-DRESSING: Miriam Grace Edwards as Mary in Mrs Presiden
Theatre Review / 5 February 2025
5 February 2025
PETER MASON applauds a thought-provoking study of the relationship between a grieving woman and her photographer
Similar stories
CLASSIC: Luke Thallon (centre) as Hamlet
Theatre review / 20 February 2025
20 February 2025
GORDON PARSONS is bowled over by a skilfully stripped down and powerfully relevant production of Hamlet
DOUBLE TAKE: Dominic Semwanga and Megan Keaveney as Fes and
Theatre review / 4 December 2024
4 December 2024
PETER MASON reckons the NYT’s production of Shakespeare’s comedy is the pick of the Christmas shows on offer in London 
Will Kean as Iago and John Douglas Thompson as Othello
Theatre review / 23 October 2024
23 October 2024
GORDON PARSONS hails a magnificent performance by a cast who make sure that every word can be heard and understood
AS YOU JAM IT: the cast of As You Like It
Theatre review / 29 July 2024
29 July 2024
GORDON PARSONS relishes a Shakespearean comedy played at pace for sheer delight