‘IT'S NOT THAT KIND OF LYRICAL OUTDOOR SHAKESPEARE
Flf dreams
Steve Cramer talks to director Gordon Barr about Bard in the Botanics, and finds a Puck—Focussed Midsummer Night’s Dream, and a moral Othello.
here might be a groan from theatre critics at
yet another summer production of A
Midsmnmr'r Night's Dream in the park. but there's no doubting the resilience and popularity of the old standard. Also. as this upcoming production from Bard in the Botanics shows. there‘s a lot that can be done on the politics of relationships.
The play contains the kind of embarrassing human quandaries that lie at the heart of the average emotional person. It dispels the guilt that we might feel in our interactions with lovers by liberating its characters‘ passion without responsibility. or even fellow feeling to those about them. These characters inhabit their own pleasure principle. It takes not months or years. but seconds. to switch the focus of their passions from one to another —- pure desire without the usual catch of being civilised is the name of the game. It is arguany one of the reasons the play is so popular.
This is what makes the idea of Gordon Barr‘s version of Shakespeare‘s summertime parks and fields classic so fascinating. For here Puck is the commanding figure over the lovers. a representative of pure anarchic desire. without the controlling influence emphasised by an ()beron. who reminds us that people need to feel responsibility to each other. and liberate their desires with at least some acknowledgement of the people around them.
’Puck is creating a dream in this version. and the other characters get involved in it.‘ says Barr. ‘1 don‘t want to get all psychological about it. but clearly the Mechanicals is ego and the Fairies is id. It’s not that
kind of lyrical outdoor Shakespeare with fairies appearing out of trees and so on: it's this dream world where characters find out a lot about themselves -- it will challenge some of the audience‘s expectations as it has only live characters. [is quite different from the last Dream we did.‘
And for all the legendary darkness of the play"s observance of human relationships. Barr's version stresses that the action is a dream and that these characters aren’t l'(’(l//_\‘ acting in a manner that would make them sociopaths in real life. so the audience is allowed a soft landing.
Meanwhile. at the Kibble Palace the second of this year‘s offerings from Bard in the Botanics. ()I/It’lln. also benefits from a makeover. 'lt‘s not a play that’s built for outdoors. albeit that it first appeared at The (ilobe. There‘s a claustrophobia and intimacy about it that wouldn‘t suit the open spaces of the woodland and park. So it‘s only since the Kibble Palace has opened to tts that we thought we could do it.' Barr explains.
For him. while issues of race underpin the play. there‘s a kind of moral tragedy to the piece. as well. where the protagonist discovers that people very close to him are a rather tawdry lot. and can‘t reconcile the fact to his world view.
Barr adds. ‘lle has to judge others by his own standards of behaviour. but he learns. very painfully. that they aren't up to that.’
Botanic Gardens and Kibble Palace, Glasgow, Wed 27 Jun-Sat 4 Aug
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* Detainee A Another major contribution to refugee week is this piece directed by Cora Bissett and featuring a cast of 21, which tells the story of an Asian family in Glasgow devastated by police raids and arrests. The Arches, Glasgow, Tue 26—Thu 28 Jun.
* Bard in the Botanics This year’s offerings from Glasgow Rep feature two major classics rather than the less commonly seen texts of recent years. in the open spaces of Glasgow's Botanic Gardens, and the tighter confines of Kibble Palace, you can see Othello or A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Botanical Gardens, Glasgow, Wed 27 Jun—Sat 4 Aug.
1|! Asylum Monologues This amounts to a rehearsed reading which gives accounts of the experiences of Asylum seekers in contemporary Britain in their own words. As part of refugee week, the piece will be performed on one night across 12 major UK cities. Gilmorehi/IG12, Glasgow, Thu 21 Jun.
3!: Music at the Brewhouse: Helter Skelter This magical realist fantasy looks like being a treat. Featuring live music from the band of the title, it features physical skills and visual treats from a troupe of performers from around the world in a story about a ballerina who runs away to the circus. Tramway, Glasgow, Tue 3—Sat 7 Jul.
* It Takes No The bittersweet experience of love, and all the humour and song it can inspire is promised in this piece, which incorporates snippets on the theme from a number of major writers. Byre Theatre, St Andrews, Fri 22 Jun, then touring.
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