 |
|||
 |
|
||
 |
||||
|
Sharp Athenian Law Challenged by Left Wing Feminist Lobby. THE LAW OF Athens was challenged yesterday when a young woman defied her father's right to arrange an unwanted marriage to a nobleman of the city. She has been told that she must submit to her father's will or, either suffer death, or forever abjure from the society of men. The Duke himself delivered the damning ultimatum after the father who is said to be a friend of the Duke came to the palace, full of vexation with his daughter. Royal command performance In celebration of the Duke's wedding, suggestions are being tendered to provide the entertainments for this momentous occasion. The preferred group will get to perform before the royals after the feast. Tel: 0230 579 864 for details and an entry form. No timewasters please
|
 by A. Conan Doyle
Yesterday the Apollo's offices were invaded by a group of incoherent thespians claiming their fellow actor had been transformed into a donkey whilst rehearsing. I resisted the temptation to label them lunatic freaks and calmly started to type up their story on my magic typewriter It would appear that none of them have seen Nick Bottom, Weaver (31) since the incident. Although police are making enquiries, this reporter thinks they would do better to put them all in a cell and wait for the effects to wear off. For it seems quite obvious that this bunch of amateurs have gone into the forest with the sole intention of getting ridiculously drunk. |
|||
Philostrate is always getting into trouble with the
Duke, with hilarious consequences! The fun starts
(and finishes) on the back page.
|
Wimbledon Library for the loan of the tree and the Duke's thrones, Silkance Fabrics, Tooting High Street, for the backcloth material, The Carlton Crusaders football team for loan of their shirts, Lizzie Moss for the loan of the moon's bush 
Penny Stone and friends for front of house Centre Court Shopping Centre for letting us do publicity there. |
THE DIRECTOR SAYS
It is a farce. That's all you need to say really but then my
whole column would be blank. I know there's a general feeling
that plays called "comedies" at that time were anything with a
happy ending, but I believe that the previous Elizabethans expected
just as much of a laugh from their plays as the current Elizabethans.
The whole situation is most farcically ridiculous and can only be
laughed at surely? Then when you examine some of the lines you cannot
avoid the vague possibility of them being funny. There is
quite a bit of obvious stuff. Some other stuff may not look funny at
first glance, but if it is said with a slight difference in
inflection or with a particular action, it suddenly becomes obvious
that that might be what the author meant. This is where it has been
most useful to have an enthusiastic cast with plenty of contributory
ideas. Someone will come up with some new slant and everyone
else will go "but of course, that's obvious." My main aim is that
the actors should enjoy themselves both rehearsing and performing
and that the audience should enjoy the performance. We can only
guess at what Shakespeare intended his actors to make of this play
but I do not put on Shakespeare in a effort to be "authentic" to his
intentions, surely one is trying to please the audience? A laugh is
always worthwhile AND a lot more fun than some over-earnest attempt
at pseudo-authenticity. Shakespeare would I think approve of putting
on a play to please your current audience. That is after all what he
was trying to do.And it is in Elizabethan dress. Think about it. Anyway, Shakespeare's lot always did modern dress productions. 
|
THE DIRECTOR SAYS
With special responsibility for the "Play within the play" I
concentrated on the tragic elements of the well known legend of
Pyramus and Thisbe. I feel that here the bard surpasses his efforts
at romantic tragedy portrayed in Romeo and Juliet and reaches the
pinnacle of tragic drama. Many a time I have seen productions of
this play where the "rude mechanicals" have played their parts for
laughs. I have relished the opportunity to set the record straight
and after strenuous academic research feel I have been able to
approach what Shakespeare surely intended the play within the play
to be. The final sharp illumination that clarifies the true meaning
of the masterpiece of subtle tragedy that is a Midsummer night's
dream, shrouded as it is by a veil of humour. In my earnest
intention for authenticity, as preparation, my actors were
subjected to the rigours of the Stanislavski method and taken to
Wimbledon Common to rehearse by night in the wood as the original
rude mechanicals would have done. They seemed to react well
(especially when attacked by a particularly vicious squirrel) and
the experience certainly authenticated their performance. The dying
scene was a particular challenge as none of the actors had previously
died. As I could not persuade them to stab themselves for
authenticity, the next best thing was to put them in a situation
where they felt suicidal. The tortures I have put them through
enabled them to portray the true tragedy of the piece. It just
remains for me to wish you the real enjoyment that can only come
from seeing authentic Shakespeare as he truly intended it.
|
|
The Quince Players present 
Fresh from their resounding success at the Duke's Court (Duke Theseus) "more merry tears...I never shed"(Philostrate, the Duke's master of revels) "The dog will go far, a performance of deep sensitivity"(K. Bowditch, The Apollo) "OK"(R. Goodfellow, The Pan) |
|
ADVERTISEMENTS
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
