It's a good month for hardcore Shakespeare fans in Shanghai -- both of you -- with the opening of TNT's "Hamlet" last week and now locally-based East West Theatre's "A Midsummer Nights Dream," which opened last night. After a really successful run of "A Christmas Carol" a couple of months ago, the troupe returns again (dir. Jonathan Geenen) to perform an interesting take on Shakespeare's most -- wait for it -- puckish rom-com

The first thing you notice as you file into a large warehouse to take your seat is that there's no stage. Taking place at the Deke Erh Art Center, the performance occurs on a carpeted floor with rows of seating lined up against the long-ends of the warehouse. Two rows of audience face each other, the performance takes place in the middle, and the actors enter and exit from the two long ends of the warehouse. It's an interesting setup, reliant on extensive choreography and stage positioning to enable the actors to deliver the story to two opposite audiences. With only two rows, everyone is in the "front row" and it creates the sensation that you’re right in the action, at times a part of the conversations and at times peeking over someone's shoulder to hear what's going on.

A lot of movement was interjected into the performance, with the actors pacing about, running off, running on, rolling around on the ground, dancing, strutting, grappling, prancing, cavorting ... you get the idea. I had to scrunch up in my seat a couple of times to avoid tripping a sprinting Lysander and I think a bit of Oberon's spit landed on my shoe. Immediate theatre! Huzzah!

The cast is a mix of veteran performers with East West and a few new faces. Drawing from the international community of Shanghai, at least six different accents are delivering the Bard this time around. If you ever wanted to hear Shakespeare done in a charming little Swedish lilt, this is your chance. Handling their roles with ease and confidence were veterans Michael Beets in the role of Nick Bottom and Charmaine Grey in the role of Titania. Both were quite charismatic and able to fully exploit the comedic elements of their parts to deliver big laughs.

The overarching comedy of the play was trumped up -- just what the audience was looking for: successful bits of diversion where the "Rude Mechanical Play" bit at the end, and the comedic "confused lovers" scene with both male suitors drugged and pining for Helena.

It's good to see the troupe taking challenging, unorthodox approaches to their performances in their unusual setup. It's a trend I hope they continue. I’m hoping they choose something weirder or darker for their next production after the last two feel-good pieces. EWT presents "Pere Ubu"?


Here's the bad news: it's sold out. The play runs from April 9 to April 13, but the 100rmb tickets (capacity 80 seats per show) have already been reserved. However, cancellations do happen and it's really worth it to call ahead and see if seats have become available. Contact Sarah at: 134 8232 0227. Or email east.west.info@gmail.com.

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