REVIEW
Victoria's Shakespeare by the Sea presents A Midsummer Night's Dream
Where: Holland Point Park
When: Runs until Sept. 2
Tickets: $25 for adults, $15 for students and seniors, available by phone at 250-213-8088
Cash only at the door
Rating: 3 1 /2 (out of five)
Victoria's Shakespeare by the Sea, the city's newest Bard-presented al-fresco outfit, made a charming debut Tuesday night with its production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
The show makes for a good date night for several reasons, not the least of which is the venue, Holland Point Park, at Dallas Road just west of Government Street.
Audience members sit under a white canopy and face a small, barely elevated stage. The players have no curtain behind them - just the beachside scrub, the ocean and the Olympic Mountains for a backdrop.
The choice of play didn't hurt the romantic vibe, either.
One of Shakespeare's most popular works, it's a series of whimsical reveries that surround the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and his beloved Hippolyta.
It's fanciful fare, riddled with fairies, nymphs, elves, love spells and magic potions.
The seaside production plays up the fanciful elements, making generous use of cheap, cheesy costumes and props and overthe-top acting.
Playing Puck, the play's mischievous elfin trickster, Jared Lea galloped gaily around in hockey equipment - a corny Canadian take on his character's name.
His helmet bore safetyorange hockey pucks, mimicking the horns Puck would wear in a more traditional production.
This isn't to say it lacked serious, heartfelt performances. University of Victoria theatre student Molison Farmer delivered an impassioned, confident take on Helena, the maiden who longs after Demetrius, who doesn't love her in return.
Perhaps the most impressive element, aside from the panoramic view of the sunset, was how the company managed to pull off the flying scenes without the use of suspension cables, which wouldn't have been practical for the big-tent setup.
Actors were strapped onto giant teeter-totter-like contraptions that use massive weights as ballast.
Operators manipulated the machines from off-stage, occasionally turning the apparently floating actors upside down.
In spite of these jawdropping elements, it was hard to forget this is a community-theatre endeavour.
The occasional line was flubbed and some of the chorus's in-unison incantations, well, weren't quite in unison.
The rickety bits, though, worked to emphasize the show's silly factor, hardly an unforgivable offence. Judging by the constant guffaws, the audience didn't seem to mind.
They paid to see A Midsummer Night's Dream, not Dog Day Afternoon.
