Peter Hall revived his 1959 production of Dream in 1962 and again in 1963 at the Aldwych followed by a provincial tour. Hall's production also inspired his own 1969 film version. Each revival included certain cast changes, and various modifications to setting and action to suit the performing conditions, but, in essence, the basic production and design concepts remained virtually unaltered over this ten year period.
Lila de Nobili's set featured an Elizabethan hall, with a minstrels' gallery and timbered oak steps on each side.
The slightly raked stage floor was covered in straw and parts of the basic, permanent set could be backlit to reveal a woodland setting behind - leafy green and romantic in mood.
Mavis Edwards as Fairy, Michael Scoble as Mustardseed, Jean Owen as Fairy, Zoe Caldwell as Fairy, Mary Ure as Titania, Georgine Anderson as Fairy, Judith Downes as Peaseblossom, Malcolm Ranson as Cobweb, Margaret O'Keefe as Moth, Dir: Peter Hall, SMT, 1959
Some commentators saw Hall's production as a mixture between a certain visual traditionalism and a very contemporary approach. The characterisation of the lovers, who behaved like modern teenagers, and of the fairies, who were tousle-haired and wild-eyed, was considered to be amongst the more unconventional elements. Hall described them himself as 'sexy and wicked and kinky'. In Hall's film of The Dream he took the fairies a step further: they were almost naked (wearing only strategically placed 'leaves'), dirty-faced, muddy, and painted all over in slimy, glistening green make-up.
'Brook's Dream' is a milestone in RSC and theatre history. It was very popular and went out on world tour. The pictures that we have in the RSC collection can still convey the bold statement that the production represented: bright, vivid colours inside Sally Jacobs' 'white-box' set.
David Waller as Bottom, Sara Kestelman as Titania, Dir: Peter Brook, RST, 1970
So much has been written about this production that it can become difficult to assess its real contribution to theatre. Nevertheless, it would be fair to say that this production went far beyond a new interpretation of the Dream; it was perceived as a new approach to theatre per se. Peter Brook wanted to strip away the inessential detail and pose new challenges to the imagination of the audience.
David Waller as Bottom, Sara Kestelman as Titania, Dir: Peter Brook, RST, 1970
Brook's production reportedly found its genesis in circus and oriental influences. He witnessed a Chinese circus in Paris, and was impressed by the way in which the oriental acrobats differed from their western counterparts. The bare stage was hung with ropes, trapezes, swings and ladders, and floored with soft, white matting
The cheeky look on Puck's (Richard McCabe) face and the carefree playfulness of Titania (Clare Higgins) as she canoodles with Bottom sums up the vivaciousness of John Caird's 1989 production. Tutus, fairy wings, gambolling 'punk fairies' with big leather boots, blazers and school ties - this production was full of mischievous juxtapositions.
Richard McCabe as Puck, Dir: John Caird, RST, 1989
David Troughton as Bottom, Clare Higgins as Titania, Dir; John Caird, RST, 1989
John Carlisle donned a ropy old evening jacket, 'hen-night' fairy wings (the same as the other fairies wore) and pointy 'Spock' ears and still managed to command authority over the proceedings, albeit with one eye winking firmly at the audience.
This production was stealing and borrowing from, and nodding and winking to, many past productions of the Dream (Peter Hall had his fairies wear pointy ears in 1962 and in his film version in 1969). An anarchic, irreverent attitude and frenetic pace were captured by the throw-away gestures of Richard McCabe's Puck, who literally threw away his copy of New Penguin Shakespeare.
David Troughton's pin-stripped Bottom sported big side-burns and an old straw hat; the forest was an old scrap-yard with broken old pianos and Victorian bathtubs; and everything on the stage seemed to be infected with this dreamy eclecticism.
In fact the set, designed by Giles Cradle, was dominated by its blackness. Hands appeared from nowhere; one actor dressed as a tree moved between scene changes; tricks were played with perspective, and large, head-sized flies populated the set in ever-increasing numbers. The lovers were young and athletic and their movements were choreographed as though they were in a ballet.
Nikki Amuka-Bird as Helena, Michael Colgan as Lysander, Paul Chequer as Demetrius, Gabrielle Jourdan as Hermia, Dir: Richard Jones, RST, 2002
When criticised for not producing a more traditional and pastoral Dream, Jones expressed his right to experiment with Shakespeare: 'There is an absolute obsession with being definitive in the theatre, which I hate. People think there is some kind of grail, that there is one way for a piece to be done. I think there is a cultural amnesia about what theatre is for. It should certainly ask more questions than it gives answers.' ['Rise of the demon king' by Charlotte Higgins, The Guardian, 20/04/02]
Dale Rapley as Snug, Richard Dempsey as Flute, Steven Beard as Starveling, Martin Savage as Quince, Darrell D'Silva as Bottom, Gareth Farr as Snout, Dir: Richard Jones RST, 2002
Dale Rapley as Snug, Richard Dempsey as Flute, Steven Beard as Starveling, Martin Savage as Quince, Gareth Farr as Snout, Darrell D'Silva as Bottom , Dir: Richard Jones RST, 2002
The old and the new are captured in both these pictures of the Mechanicals. Here we have the classical tableaux of the Mechanicals sitting down and rehearsing their performance of Pyramus and Thisbe (above and left) and we can see the impact of both the director and designer's vision in an expressionistic style of staging. Notice how the Mechanicals sit on spotlight-beam cum underground tunnel (left) adding a surreal, filmic look to the comic proceedings.
These are all examples of RSC productions from the 20th century. Are they Barton or Marrowitz approaches?
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