A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Everyone loves a happy ending and A Midsummer Night’s Dream gives us not one but three. Maybe that’s the reason Shakespeare’s comedy has been so popular for over 400 years. The combination of fairies, rustics and lovers has been irresistible to choreographers for decades and Liam Scarlett’s new vision of their escapades has all of the magic of a master conjurer.

This is an enchanting production. Scarlett, the UK’s new ballet whiz-kid, has choreographed the piece along clean classical lines with an overlay of rambunctious humour which works well for the piece. It’s the first we’ve seen of his ballets and it’s obvious his reputation is well-deserved.

Tracey Grant Lord’s forest glade set was perfect - a combination of “Angel Trumpet” flower shapes and tall poppies dotted with tiny pin-lights that sparkled, it absolutely glowed with magic aided by Kendall Smith’s ethereal lighting. Lord’s costumes - blue tutus for the fairies with an occasional mauve thrown in for good measure, and a lederhosen boy-scout look for the boys as the Rustics – were just as perfect. And the fairies with their royal blue umbrella’s that glittered were truly memorable props.

A grab-bag score by Mendelssohn, which melds his original “Overture” written in 1825 and later incidental music that includes his famous “Wedding March,” has been augmented with other pieces of the composer’s work to make an organic whole by music director and conductor Nigel Gaynor. His contribution to the success of the performance is inestimable, as is the playing of it by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

Joel Woellner was a strong Oberon, a King who ruled over his domain with authority. He brought a muscular energy to the role and was especially pleasing in his solo work. His final pas-de-deux with Lina Kim as Titania was particularly moving. Kim was at her best playing the comedy seduction with Jack Lister’s Bottom when he was wearing a donkey’s head. Although it frequently fell into the buffoonery category, Kim and Lister milked it for maximum effect.

Rian Thomson and Laura Hildalgo were an amusing Hermia and Lysander, whilst Lisa Edwards and Alexander Idaszak had fun as a nerdish Helena and Demetrius. This quartet of dancers brought a marvellous joire-de-vive to their roles and led the company on a “Keystone Cops” split-second timed chase sequence that brought hearty laughs. Zuquan Kou’s impish Puck was an audience favourite despite his playing the part with OTT flamboyance and mugging shamelessly. A Midsummer Night’s Dream satisfies on almost every level.

A highly theatrical evening of classical dance, it’s another feather in the cap of Queensland’s flagship ballet company who along with their partners on the production, the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company, should be congratulated for introducing Scarlett’s invigorating take on Shakespeare’s classic to the world ballet repertoire.

Peter Pinne

Note: Review is of the April 2nd performance. Performances from 13-16 April will feature recorded music of the score played by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nigel Gaynor.