Propeller at Theatre Royal Brighton
Propeller bring Shakespeare to a modern audience at Theatre Royal Brighton
Midsummer mishief
Edward Hall, Artistic Director of the hugely talented all-male company Propeller, explains why he has chosen to bring The Comedy of Errors and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Theatre Royal Brighton this summer.
“The two shows we’re doing are similar in that they’re both perfectly formed plays. Traditionally, we’ve done one more entertaining and one more serious play, but this time we’re doing two highly entertaining shows.” In Shakespeare’s most magical play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, love and illusion collide when two pairs of lovers become entangled in fairy mischief on the eve of a Royal Wedding. Dreams and reality become interchangeable, and romantic chaos ensues.
“There are in fact four storylines in A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” says Hall. “Shakespeare sets out each storyline and then they all collide in Act Five, and everyone goes home happy. It’s an absolute masterpiece.”
In The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare’s smartest and most farcical play, two sets of twins, separated at birth, find themselves in the same city 25 years later with hilarious consequences. A series of mistaken identities, assumed personas and wild mishaps bring a family crisis – so complicated that time itself loses the plot – into heartwarming focus.
“This production of The Comedy of Errors is set on a sort of 1980s package holiday island, where there are sombreros, sunglasses, too much sangria and sun, and people getting into trouble,” says Hall. “It’s colourful, fast and funny.”
Asked why Shakespeare still speaks to a modern audience, Hall explains: “Shakespeare was a very successful writer at a time when most writers died penniless. He was popular, populist, quick and contemporary. His audience were largely illiterate, so the myth that you need to have studied for years to enjoy one of his plays is just that – a myth.
“Next time you listen to a complicated speech in Shakespeare, listen to the end,” advises Hall.
“You’ll get two or three lines that sum everything up. So for all those people who didn’t get everything, he looks after you at the end. He uses that method again and again and again.”
Explaining the Propeller approach to Shakespeare, Hall comments:
“We work hard to deliver a very lucid evening in the theatre. I want audiences to feel involved in our shows. I want it still to be with you as you go to work the next morning.”
Don’t miss one of the country’s most innovative, energetic and exciting theatre companies when they visit Theatre Royal Brighton from Tuesday 10 – Saturday 14 June.
To book tickets: 0844 871 7650
(bkg fee)
www.atgtickets.com/brighton
(bkg fee)
