Writer: William Shakespeare
Company: Oddsocks
Perennial favourite touring company, Oddsocks, return to tread the astroturf of the Brighton Open Air Theatre with an uproarious production of Shakespeare’s seasonal romantic comedy. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is perfectly suited to the company’s focus on cramming as many jokes into a pared down two-hour performance as possible. Shakespeare’s text remains at the centre but we get winky asides, pop culture references and plenty of innuendo, combining to create an enormously enjoyable night out in this fabulous – and thankfully dry – open air venue.
A restaurant called The Taste of Athens provides the backdrop for the Athenian portion of the play. The amateur theatre group are all kitchen staff there. Bottom (played by Oddsocks co-founder Andy Barrow) is a French pastry chef with a ridiculous mullet. His accent is exaggerated and employed in the spirit of leaving no comedic stone unturned throughout. His colleagues are equally silly, with an impatient Australian Peter Quince (fellow co-founder, Elli Mackenzie) trying to direct their theatrical endeavours.
The quartet of Athenian lovers are equally amplified in their characterisation. Lysander (Matthew Christmas) is a floppy musician who spends most of the play with an acoustic guitar around his neck. In his drainpipe trousers and sunglasses, he looks like he’s stolen the wardrobe from the Bob Dylan biopic. His singing however is closer to an Ed Sheeran tribute act. The target of his love songs, Hermia, (Rebecca Little) has the fashion sense and shrill accent of an Eastenders pub landlady. Demetrius (Barrow) is a bit of a cockney wideboy with flamboyant jacket and jaunty hat. Poor Helena (Mackenzie) remains rather plain in comparison. She’s a cocktail waitress, doting on Demetrius, wishing she was as desirable as Hermia.
There’s a feeling that Oddsocks are here to guide us through the world of Shakespeare, rather than just present us with a faithful text and leave us to figure it out ourselves. And that’s a great way to get an audience on your side. There are whoops of laughter (and most probably relief too) at each little divergence from the text, with cheeky references to Love Island, James Blunt and Lord of the Rings. Experiencing Shakespeare as an adult can feel like returning to school and these splashes of irreverence evoke the feeling of sitting in the back row of class giggling with your friends.
But of course there is plenty to laugh at in the original text as well. The cast truly excel in the second half of the play when the love potion-spiked lovers are falling in love with each other and the confusion builds to a climax of convoluted sitcom farce. There’s some wonderfully realistic playfighting which elicits concerned yet delighted gasps from the crowd as for a moment it seems someone might have actually been properly hit in the face. It’s all part of the plan though.
And then the comedy is ramped up even further for the play-within-the-play, the tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe. A member of the audience is persuaded onto the stage to play the part of the wall to bawdy, hilarious effect. This section of the play is expertly wrung for maximum humour and stands as a testament to the skill of this experienced company. It may be the perfect vehicle for their crowd-pleasing, inclusive approach to Shakespearean interpretation.
Runs until 19 July 2025
