A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

After Episodes of an Easter Rising, Handspring further explored the combination of puppets and actors in this adaptation of the classic William Shakespeare play which they produced with the Baxter Theatre in 1988. This production won the Vita Award for Production of the Year of a Play in the Cape and was also seen at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg in May 1989.   The Handspring's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream was not the first to use puppets. The most famous modern production was undertaken by the Czechoslovakian puppeteer Juri Trinka and was produced as a stop frame animated puppet film. It won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959. An adaptation by the Drak Theatre Company of Czechoslovakia was a major success at the 7th World Festival of Puppet Theatres in France in 1985.   In the late 17th and 18th centuries the Bunraku Puppet Theatre in Japan was a dynamic and important theatrical force. The Bunraku convention allowed puppeteers to be fully visible on stage while manipulating their puppets. This convention formed an integral part of Handspring's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.   The puppet plays of the Bambara and Bozo people of Mali, West Africa, also exerted an influence on the production.

History of the production | Credits Photo gallery | BACK TO MIDSUMMER

ADRIAN KOHLER Esther van Ryswyk was awaiting our return from the festival in Charleville-Mezzieres with great interest. Both to find out how Easter Rising had fared and to hear about the work we had seen.    The Drak's Midsummer Night's Dream had been such a talking point. They had solved the ideas about the fairies and particularly Puck, in such ingenious ways that after some time she said, 'why don't we do our own Dream?   The challenge was too daunting at first. Both Basil and I felt that we couldn't fail to be heavily influenced by the fabulous ideas in the Czeck production. But little by little it began to feel possible.   John Slemmon at the Baxter felt so too. If we could trim the text, make it more accessible to a modern audience. Perhaps the text could be adapted, simplified. Basil Appollis had recently become such a hit as a comedian in District Six: The Musical and John was keen to exploit his popularity in a new production. Bottom would be an ideal role for him.    So we began assembling a cast of young rising stars. Neil MaCarthy, Clare Stopford, Sandi Schultz, Dawid Minnaar, Jennie Reznek, Fred Abrahamse, Antoinette Butler, Ivan Abrams, Martin le Maitre, Andre Samuels.   The recent acquisition of a computer to replace the Handspring typewriter led Basil and I to fantasize about a gigantic green computer screen as the backdrop with a big, beating curser as the generator, the source of the words. Once again Esther's keep-it-plain-and-simple philosophy prevailed and the Dream came to be set in Africa. The more time that was spent dreaming, the less influential were the Czech ideas. The puppet theatre tradition of Mali, a constant source of inspiration, once again became useful. Titania developed into a towering Yayoroba or beautiful woman figure, Oberon, an equally gigantic horse-like creature. Both based on Malian carvings. Puppet fairies were free to become anything, unfettered by human performers. Flying fish, harpies, skeletons. The Czechs had given us a taste for the macabre. Now we followed through with our own version.   The attempt at adapting the text did not work. No matter how good the new text turned out to be it was of course very difficult to improve on the original. In the end the original was simply cut to be able to be played by fourteen actors.   It is a lesson in humility to tackle a Shakespeare. The words are so beautiful and so illusive. The structure so hidden. Above all, it needs impeccable ensemble playing and technique for making the ancient lines make sense to a modern ear. What had seemed like a great idea turned into an Everest to climb. The recurring problem of lack of funds meant the sets and puppets had to be made for next to nothing with a lot of help from the cast and the rehearsals had to be finished in four weeks. This took its toll on everyone, but the cast was an extremely resourceful one. Several were directors in their own right and when time was running out, the play was divided up into sections and each section given a caretaker, someone who was not in that scene.   For instance Fred Abrahamse, who was one of the quartet of lovers, took responsibility for drilling the mechanicals with their play of Pyramus and Thisbe, performed with rag doll puppets. Jenny Reznek, playing Puck, choreographed the huge puppet scenes involving Oberon and Titania and all the fairies. It is a testimony to everyone involved that on opening night, there was nothing but magic out there. In various guises the production went on to successful seasons at the Grahamstown Festival and the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, with some cast changes in each case.

In brief | Credits Photo gallery | BACK TO MIDSUMMER

Direction: Esther van Ryswyk (Baxter) Fred Abrahamse (Market) Music: Johan Cloete Décor and puppet design: Adrian Kohler Costumes: John Caviggia (Baxter), Ann Sharfman (Market) Movement: Jennie Reznek Baxter Theatre cast: Neil McCarthy, Fred Abrahamse, Basil Apollis, Clare Stopford, Dawid Minnaar, Sandi Schultz, Jennie Reznek, Antoinette Butler, Martin le Maitre, Ivan Abrahams, Basil Jones, Adrian Kohler, Paul Malherbe, Andre Samuels Market Theatre cast: Neil McCarthy, Fiona Ramsay, John Ramsbottom, Gaynor Young, Robert Finlayson, David Butler, Clare Stopford, Jennie Reznek, David Alcock, Robin Smith, Basil Jones, Adrian Kohler, Fats Dibeko, Solomon Bisholo Production: The Baxter Theatre and the Market Theatre

In brief | History of the production Photo gallery | BACK TO MIDSUMMER

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In brief | History of the production Credits | BACK TO MIDSUMMER

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