A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Featuring Xuan Fraser, Cara Ricketts. Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by ahdri zhina mandiela. Presented by CanStage TD Dream in High Park. To Aug 31. Tue-Sun 8pm. PWYC/$20 sugg; under-14 free. Outdoor Amphitheatre in High Park, 1873 Bloor W. 416-367-1652. www.canstage.com.
Though essentially a remount of last year’s production, this year’s Dream in High Park is definitely worth a second look. Retaining all the successes of the original and fixing almost everything that diminished its charm, ahdri zhina mandiela’s second crack at A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a bawdier, funnier, sweeter affair.
Splitting its action between a modern urban setting and an enchanted forest, Dream still struggles a little with the transition between the two worlds — a fairy with “4 JESUS” written on her denim isn’t quite credible, but Egeus’ (Rebecca Northan) attempt to collect cameraphone evidence of magic is brilliant. However, mandiela’s playful attitude toward the text remains a highlight, and the hip-hop version of Pyramus and Thisbe is still intact in all its hilarious glory, with Peter Quince (Steven Gallagher) doing his best Fred Schneider too. Julia Tribe’s bright costumes provide lots of eye candy, especially on Titania and the wonderfully mismatched mechanicals.
What really hobbled last year’s production was poor chemistry between several of the principals, and thanks to some minor casting changes and some vastly improved performances, this mistake isn’t repeated. Maev Beaty reprises her crowd-pleasing turn as a neurotic, harried Helena, but opposite a more energetic Richard Harte, whose Demetrius seems truly enamoured of her by the end. Monica Dottor’s Hermia is a spoiled, screeching brat who manages to elicit pity at just the right moments, and her slapstick catfight with Helena is one of the funniest scenes in the play. Last year’s Oberon came off as a self-important jerk, but Xuan Fraser reimagines him as a lusty prankster, and Cara Rickett is stunningly elegant as Hippolyta and Titania.
With lovers who really do seem like they’re in love, not to mention an exuberant hip-hop influenced approach to Shakespeare, this year’s Dream makes it easy to believe in magic.