I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream in Princes Street Gardens at the first (and possibly last!) Edinburgh Shakespeare festival last Wednesday evening. Open air theatre is a lovely idea but not really for Scotland and not really for the Ross Bandstand. The weather was very weird all day last Wednesday for a start. It was overcast in the morning, then there was a heatwave at lunch time and by 5pm it was overcast again. Now, that doesn't sound all that strange for Scotland but it goes to show how unpredictable the weather can be. I had packed my cagoule just in case but in the end it didn't rain during the performance. The bloke 4 rows in front of us that got shat on by a dive-bombing seagull possibly wished he'd packed his cagoule though!
The other thing that I don't think the organisers of the event took into account was that the main railway line north out of Waverley station runs right at the back of the gardens and the Edinburgh - Glasgow shuttle goes by every 15 minutes. The London train was worse because, though it runs less frequently, it is longer and seemed to scrape the tracks a whole heck of a lot more. So the poor actors were having to contend with the noise of passing trains, the traffic on Princes Street and the odd passing ned shouting incoherent abuse (in that way that they do). For the most part they coped admirably, except for Hypolita/Titania - you couldn't hear a blinking word she said. We all agreed we recognised her from television so she's probably not as used to projecting.
So, apart from the iffy weather and the noise pollution, how was the show? Not too shabby actually. I was thinking that the noise was unfortunate seeing as so much of Shakespeare is in the language but we all laughed in the right places and that play does allow for a lot of physical comedy. One of the things that made me chuckle the most, though probably unintentionally on the part of the actor, was Oberon's acting. It reminded me of that episode of Blackadder the Third when George is being taught to act by messers Keanrick and Mossop. He basically stood with his legs as far apart as possible and shouted. Helena also seemed to have been at this acting school, and there was more than a little whiff of 'Bob' about her too. She didn't actually slap her thigh at any point but I suspect she was supressing the urge. I think my giggling at Helena and Oberon confused Zoe no end and made her worry she was missing something.
On the whole I enjoyed it but my ass was numb by the end. That's due to the chairs though and not the quality of the production. It's reminded me how much I enjoy the bard and got me more excited about the Festival. They're doing Romeo & Juliet and Cymbeline in the Botanic Gardens this year and I must, must, must go! I can't remember why I missed A Winter's Tale last year but I suspect it was either due to laziness or a hangover. D'oh!
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