I do not remember the last time I cried from laughing so hard at a professional theatre show, and certainly didn’t expect a Shakespeare show to be what did it.
But Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan’s (SOTS) 40th anniversary features a hilarious and hijinks-filled rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that had the whole audience howling on a rainy opening night.
Directed by Kayvon Khoshkam, also the artistic director of SOTS, the story follows multiple subplots: one of a love quadrangle featuring Hermia (Mara Teare), who runs off with Lysander (Bobbi Jones), but is chased by Demetrius (Mitchell Larsen) who loves Hermia, and Helena (Amanda Trapp) who loves Demetrius. Through the incidental intervention of fairy queen Titania (Liz Whitbread) and her attendant Puck (Alyssa Billingsley), who loves who gets magically mixed up and must be undone.
The other prominent subplot is following a group of actors preparing to put on a play for the upcoming royal wedding. As Titania aims to play a trick on her husband Oberon (Aaron Hursh), she and Puck magically transform actor Nick Bottom (Kenn McLeod) into a donkey, and chaos ensues.
As is the way with all SOTS shows, this one came with a fun and unique theme — in this case, taking us back to 1985 as an homage to the first-ever SOTS production. The theme makes itself known in some of the costuming, inspired by movies like “The Breakfast Club” or “Caddyshack,” and in some of the fun meta-references added by the performers (“Star Wars” makes a rather prominent appearance in one segment).
Khoshkam, who has directed a few SOTS shows at this point, has two standout talents as a director of Shakespeare: he squeezes every ounce of humour out of the show imaginable, and he does a brilliant job making Shakespeare accessible and entertaining to the layperson in the audience. This is a show with ridiculous (and somewhat bawdy) humour throughout, but it’s never lost behind dense Shakespearean script. If you want to convince someone that Shakespeare isn’t stodgy, or want your children to know how fun the Bard’s stuff can be, Khoshkam has delivered on a silver platter the perfect introduction into that world.
Trapp as Helena and McLeod as the hapless Nick Bottom were two standout comedic performances in this production. Trapp’s presence was a bright and invigorating light in every scene they took the stage, and McLeod’s physicality added a level of humour that the script would never be able to provide. Billingsley’s sly and sneaky Puck also deserves special praise, racing around the stage with equal parts fantastical glee and devilish charm.
There’s a level of physical performance from all of these actors that should be applauded. Never again should anyone consider Shakespeare a product of a bygone age, or a stuffy play only remembered from high school English classes. This is the kind of ensemble performance that could make even the most hard-hearted viewer find joy and laughter because there’s so much happening onstage.
The set was cleverly layered in the SOTS space and the dark castle aesthetic was interesting, but it struggled to match either the flashy 1985 theme or the whimsical fancy of the fairy forests. Remembering that the second SOTS main stage show this summer is The Tragedy of King II, it is not a stretch to assume the set is overall better suited to that production — but there were a few moments where the pizzaz of the 1985 theme was missed on an otherwise darkened stage.
Because of the breadth of cultural touchstones available from the selected 1980s theme, it was also jarring when some anachronistic dance moves and turns of phrase appeared throughout.
It wasn’t a complete immersion in the theme — it almost couldn’t be, with the set having to pull double-duty for another show that is extremely tonally different — but Khoshkam picks his moments well to lean into his 1985 time frame. There are some lovely callbacks to the original SOTS A Midsummer Night’s Dream that was performed in 1985, fun Easter eggs for those in the know and a blending of the theme for those who don’t.
And if this production didn’t make Shakespeare accessible enough, there is audience participation. Some of it is much more involved (and by extension much funnier) than others.
Was this a perfect Shakespeare play? Absolutely not. But it was all the better for it. The cast and crew maximized the space they were in with lighting and laughter, and gave A Midsummer Night’s Dream a truly unique and fun-for-everyone flavour.
SOTS’s newest production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is incredibly well-cast, well-directed and well-performed. It’s so incredibly funny that it is truly a can’t-miss show this summer.
Tickets for Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan shows can be purchased online at shakespearesask.com.
