A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare's Globe performance and analysis

GOING GLOBE-AL

Shakespeare's infamous Globe Theatre was home to his plays and was generally the public hot-spot for entertainment in the 17th century. Its no-roof rounded and intimate setting made it so that performances were almost that of a pantomime, what with entrances even for 'goodies' (those seen as the protagonist with socially acceptable ethics) and 'baddies' (characters who defy the 'rules' regarding religion and law), named heaven and hell's mouth respectively. The stage also has multiple uses with trap doors scattered around centre stage, acting as graves or if someone appears from beneath; an example being the ghost of Banquo in 'Macbeth', where he comes back to taunt the title character and provide a horrific moment for the audience in order to draw them in. In addition to this, another trap door is placed above the stage and 'godly' like characters might make their way down to symbolise their authority and so the audience would know instinctively their position in the play's hierarchy, much like with heaven and hell's mouth.

Traditionally, Globe performances are held at approximately two o'clock in the afternoon as that was when the day was at its peak weather-wise and therefore would provide the stage with a sufficient amount of light for the actors and audience to see what was occurring. Furthermore, candles would be time-consuming to light up all that was needed and would be a fire hazard as well as expensive because wax was in the 17th century.

The stage from a gentleman's balcony view

Treatment of actors was monumentally different in the days of Shakespeare as they were usually lower-middle class men as women weren't allowed to perform, compared to nowadays where actors are seen as pampered celebrities and are treated with the utmost respect. Actors in those days were given a literal 'role' as, for a part in a play, they were given a scroll consisting of their cues and character lines to avoid any leaks of the script itself. Moreover, if you were an actor in role as someone of a higher class and were caught outside the theatre, you were arrested. The stuttering difference in treatment of actors may be down to the profession getting more popular over time, thus one would have to be more qualified to get a certain role that he or she wanted as there would be more competition.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S THEME

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was written by William Shakespeare around the year 1600 and is one of his most celebrated and well-known; it is set in Athens, Greece and involves a clash of three 'worlds' or three very different sets of people- The Athenians, The fairies and The rude mechanicals. The play is is popular for its key themes; Magic, Power, Obsession, Love and Lust.

Magic
The play is heavily based around the idea that the more magic you have in your possession, the more powerful you are; as is the idea with Oberon as he almost conquers the fairy and human world through Robin "Puck" Goodfellow, a mischievous fairy. The only flaw to this theory is that Oberon isn't in full control of Puck as he likes to 'stir the pot' so to speak; and the fact that Titania is full of magic and yet she is fooled into sleeping with Nick Bottom in his Ass form by Oberon's magic.

Power
Power is an incentive. And that still is very much the fact in this play. The battle of power and wits is on between the fairy gods Oberon and Titania as they fight over a child Titania has in her possession, who has been passed over from the child's mother, a worshipper of Titania. So this theme could potentially link to jealousy and could then involve part of the relationship between Helena towards Hermia and Demetrius towards Lysander. Both examples linking to Love and Lust.

Obsession

Oberon features again in this theme as he is seen to be obsessed with competing with Titania about the child she has in her possession. This theme could be seen as a weak characteristic in a person as it often drives the character mad and ultimately leads to a sort of downfall on their part. However, in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', key characters like Demetrius and Helena,in theory, get what they want as they end up marrying each other; despite the fact that Demetrius is obsessed with Hermia, he could really just want to spite Lysander and retain the respect he has from Hermia's father, Egeus. Lastly, I think Puck might share this flaw with the others as he has an obsession with mischief; he contributes a lot to the action/ potential problems that arise in the play.

Feminism
Many examples of feminism feature in the play, despite common beliefs at the time that being a defiant woman was unlawful and wrong and that they were in every way inferior to men. This could be, if popular rumour were true, that Shakespeare was an enthusiast on this matter and tried to support his beliefs in his plays.

Hermia is an outstanding example of this as she is defiant towards many powerful men in the play; she defies Demetrius of his false love and her father for his allegiance to him and, simultaneously defies Duke Theseus of his advise to 'think your father as a god'. This shows strength in the character and provides a contrast to Shakespearean times as arranged marriages were non-negotiable, yet all the supposed 'lovers' make it out marrying the one they love. Helena, for instance, is probably the most defiant character in the play as she goes against popular belief that men should be chasing after the women (much like Lysander does as he is desperate to marry Hermia) and then pursues Demetrius against his will and is perhaps the reason, beside Oberon's influence, why the lovers do end up with their preferred other halves.

SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Historically, Titania serves as a very important character as she can be linked to Queen Elizabeth I through her appearance and characteristics. There are references towards her virginity as quoted "vestal throned by the west" and the fact that she is independent and does not rely on her husband for anything and instead defies him strengthens the link. Furthermore, The rude mechanicals can be seen as a parody of Elizabethan actors as Flute plays a woman in 'Pyramus and Thisby', the play within a play; along with Bottom thinking he is higher status than he is, both linking to typical attitudes of actors in their time. These comparisons could have been inputted for the queen's amusement as it brings a special light to the country's 'darkness' and empowers supposed weak characters to differentiate theatre and reality; therefore 'The Globe' acting as a play-on words as it is as if you are escaping to another world.

Robin 'Puck' Goodfellow and the fairies are characters from English folklore and were seen in Halloween events in Medieval times and were seen as pagan and mischievous and as a result were not approved by the puritans - perhaps a further blow to the religion as theatre was also frowned upon and banned when Puritans were in power shortly after the death of Charles I.

ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY?

In today's society, many more things are socially excepted in performance, especially key changes such as women actors and sexual versatility; supported by the modern adaption of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' which could also be seen to perhaps have its flaws. This is suggested in the idea that the play has been modernised yet they still enforce the idea of arranged marriage in which the parents of the children are organised by; with Egeus (Katy Owen) still furious with his daughter's relationship with Lysander (Edmund Derrington). This gives me the impression that they have only modernised it to assist with telling the difference between the three worlds and to reach out to the audience to explain authority through clothing (eg. Oberon with his expensive shades and flashy, fashionable suits, Bottom (Ewan Wardrop) with how he wears his 'theatre staff' uniform and his prepared gear that he wears on his journey from the mechanicals to spending a night with Titania). However, they may have also done this to preserve the play's stakes and it's resolution as to the words of director Emma Rice.

In addition, I would heap praise on how they created Bottom's donkey head as with the complex wooden stick design, they made it possible for us to recognise that it was still the same character and the actor was still 'in the moment' as Nick Bottom.

The performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was vibrant as it was eye-opening. Themed in a middle eastern setting, the play focused on a modernised version of itself; with the human and fairy worlds being separated by the obvious difference in clothing - modern costuming representing the human world and Gothic medieval garments in the fairy world. Double cast characters such as Oberon (Zubin Varla) and Titania (Meow Meow) were pivotal to this as they played their equals Duke Theseus and Princess Hippolyta in the human world. Their appearance was brief as the latter therefore they were accustomed to eccentric tudor-like gowns, with Oberon's appearance influenced by how mad he is driven by his jealousy of Titania for having a child in her care; his eye make-up is smudged throughout and his shirt unlaced. Titania's costume is based upon her sexual inclination and appeal as she is always seen in a tight-fitting dress or garments and 'Madonna's Bra'-esque pointed brassiere; perhaps a nod to her overall likeliness to the pop star.

The costumes for Puck and the fairies were an interesting choice as you would not typically liken them to ones of a stereotypical Tinkerbell fairy, however they provided a terrific contrast like that of both Varla and Meow's characters. Puck was seen in all green body warmer and tights with sparkly trainers and horns to perhaps foreshadow the mischief she creates in the play- which actress Katy Owen captures brilliantly; acting as a handful from the very beginning, squirting the audience with her water gun and having to move constantly otherwise bored - giving the impression she has 'ants in her pants'. Her stage presence is duly noted as the audience tended to react positively around her - as she frequently would find herself floating in and out of the standing area to find her way on and off the stage or when action was taking place on the white tables dotted around the 'penny stink-hards'.

The fairies, however, were dressed in extravagant exotic tribe like gear, with materials ranging from ripped up clothing to leaves and flowers. This supported the play's adopted middle-eastern theme as it delivered a fresh insight into a 'fairy world' and their dedicated singing and dancing attitude. Face make-up was also a factor to why I loved their costumes as it appeared as war paint with black stripes across the bridge of the nose; having an affect on me as I would liken their active dancing and threatening appearance to New Zealand's 'Hakka' ritual.

The rude mechanicals were clothed as if they were part of the crew at The Globe and that provided a useful tool for people to understand what their role in society and how their company works. It was an interesting addition that saw them make various puns about their setting to perhaps appear instantly more likeable to the audience as they are a comedic group that provide most of the humour in the play.

Staging was a major piece of why I loved watching this adaption of the comedy drama; its minimalist set left the setting open to the imagination. This was then up to the actors to present to the audience where they were through movement, use of the stage and proxemics.

The people of Shakespeare's day would have seen the original, a completely different version of what I saw at The Globe. Firstly, conditions were much worse back then with no toilets, no interval and a risk of disease or fever as the people were not and could not be as hygienic. Additionally, the performance would have been much heightened in its deliverance as audiences were not as educated and drama was fairly new to them. The idea of homosexuality and sexy, revealing costumes would have baffled past audiences as there were laws against both in public and was even punishable by death. Therefore, they more than likely would not have taken too kindly to the recent adaption of the play.