The play “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” by William Shakespheare was written in the 1590’s. It is a romantic comedy that explores the adventures of four lovers, their interaction with fairies in a moonlit forest, and Duke and Duchess (Muir, 176). Notably, the reflection of the Elizabethan England is highly present in different ways. For instance, this play entails the use of fairies, classism, and the way women are treated as perfect examples of the Elizabethan culture in England. The author explains that the Elizabethan era occurred between 1558-1603. Moreover, the author explains that Shakespeare used fairies in this play to show the Elizabethan ideals of beauty and nature.
Besides, there were numerous examples in the play insinuating women were treated as inferior citizens in a patriarchal society. These examples relate to the Elizabethan time concerning the rules of marriage and dating, obedience to authority figures, and respect for elders. Burke (298) claims that this play was first staged between 1595 to 1596 in an Elizabethan playbouse. The author indicates that there was no scenery and a few props were used, allowing the action to resume swiftly and the audience to place their focus on the evocative language used in the play. Moreover, the play used amateur casts with high level of doubling with unique music and costume added to the effect. The author reveals that the first production of this play did not please the taste of the modern theatregoers. For this reason, there are many additions that have been incorporated in the field of theatre play such as text deviation, the use of folk songs, and the elimination of courtly figures in Shakespeare plays.
Production 1
Directorial Concept:
Granville-Barker’s production of the play “A Midsummer Night Dream” in 1914 was a modernized version of the original production. Notably, in this play, Barker used elves as fairies, and curtains lit in different colours were used as the backdrop. Barker used simple sets, an apron stage, unfussy costumes, and brightly-painted curtains. Consequently, the director utilized a small set and Asian idols were used as fairies. Halio (315) explains that the simple was used instead of complicated realistic sets because they slowed down the action of the play.
What does the production reveal about the society producing the play?
The production of this play reveals that the society producing the play was rejecting the traditional overdependence of elaborate sets. In this regard, the directorial concept portrayed in this production aimed at utilizing small casts and speeding up the action of the play to make it more appealing to the audience.
Production 2
Directorial Concept:
Peter Brook’s production of the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 1970 incorporated different directional concepts from the original play. For instance the author approached the play with radicalism, improving from the earlier productions, which used minimal set. In this play, the set used a well lit white box replacing the traditional “DreamSet” design of the classical Athenian court (Smallwood, 108). The set entailed the use of three white walls, a white floor, and two swing doors. Notably, in this production the actors dressed in bright silks and incorporated the use of circus skills such as trapeze-swinging and plate-spinning. Doubling was also used in the roles of Theseus and Oberon and those of Hippolyta and Titania. The author explains that Brook aimed at removing the excess visuals that were previously built on this play and to improve the relationship between the audience and the actors in theatre performance.
What does the production reveal about the society producing the play
Shakespeare’s play “The MidSummer’s Night Dream” was set in Athens in a fairy forest. However, in this production, Brook aimed at rejecting the old traditions of illusionism and realism in theatre arts by avoiding using realist props. For instance, the characters were dressed in non-athenian costumes. This indicates that the author aimed at creating a new theatre appeal to the modern society by incorporating new elements such as acrobatics. In effect, the director was trying to break away from the Elizabethan culture.
Production 3
Directorial Concept
The play “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” directed by Julie Taymor in 2014 in Brooklyn was presented on a screen with all the mechanical devices used in stage are seen. Notably, the director used three cameramen who moved around the stage during the performance and their proximity to the performers can be felt in the screen shots and close-ups (Berry, 216). Moreover, the cinematographer used great skills to catch all elements of the stage lighting. The cast used in this play was relatively large compared to the other productions discussed above, and the audience was integrated in the play. Taymor used a non-elite cast that helped in modernizing the play and the props used in this production such as the magical bed aimed at modernizing the play. Besides, the author used an ethnic diverse cast to break the ethnic and social boundaries present in the previous plays.
What does the production reveal about the society producing the play
In this production, the director aimed at proving that the film version of the play can be used to create the same intensity on the audience as live version of the play. For instance, the director used a live recording in the play to appeal to different audiences; the live audience and the film audience. Additionally, the play incorporated strong ties to the Brooklyn life, which made it more appealing to the modern audience. Therefore, the director did a good job in improving the play production from her predecessors.
Conclusion
In general, the evidence provided in this paper reveals that “The Midsummer Night Dream” plays have evolved over time because of the evolution of the audience and the production techniques. For instance, the evidence provided in this paper shows that there have been remarkable improvements from the original production of the play to the latest production, with each production adding on to the previous one. For instance, the complexity of the cast reduced whereas the speed of the action increased gradually from the first production to the third production in this study. Moreover, the production skills used also advanced greatly adding more appeal to the audience from the first to the third production in this paper. For this reason, the modern productions of the play have changed the setting from the Elizabethan era to a modern era by adding new insights such as stage lighting and the use of modern props that provide ties with the modern life style.
Works Cited
Muir, Kenneth. Shakespeare's comic sequence. Vol. 1979. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1979.
Halio, Jay L. A midsummer night's dream. Manchester University Press, 1995.
Wade, A. (1983). Memories of the London Theatre, 1900-1914. London: Society for Theatre Research.
Berry, Ralph. On Directing Shakespeare. Routledge, 2014.
Smallwood, Robert. "Twentieth-century performance: the Stratford and London companies." The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage (2002): 98-117.
Burke, k. Why A Midsummer Night’s Dream? The Johns Hopkins University Press. Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol (57) 3, 2006, pp. 297-308.
