Fun and Fairies. (A Midsummer Nights Dream)

Member Name: katygriff

Product:	A Midsummer Nights Dream
Date:	01/03/06 (1106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very Funny with Wonderful Characters.

Disadvantages: Parent Storyline.

The third Shakespeare adaptation I watched I was really looking forward to because it is based on my all time favourite play A Midsummer Nights Dream. I think this is one of Shakespeare’s finest comedy pieces so I couldn’t wait to see what they had done with it because if any of the adaptations could let me down it would be this one.

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Actual Story of A Midsummer Nights Dream:

Egeus a nobleman asks Theseus who is the Duke of Athens for help. He wishes his daughter Hermia would marry Demetrius but Hermia is in love with another guy Lysander. If hermia disobeys her father then she could be put in a convent or executed. Hermia and Lysander plan to escape Athens. Hermias bestfriend Helena who is in love with Demetrius tells Demetrius that Hermia and Lysander are eloping so they follow them into the woods. The fairies in the wood decide to make things right by putting potion on Demetrius to make him fall in love with Helena. Instead inept fairy Puck puts it on Lysander and hilarity ensues. Also Queen of the fairies Titania is also exposed to the potion and falls in love with Bottom who Puck has previously turned into an ass (donkey for those rude thinking people).


The Modern Adaptation:

Polly and Theo are celebrating their daughter Hermia’s engagement to James Demetrius and they come to Dream Park to do that. While they are there they learn that Hermia is actually in love with Xander and they elope. Helena is Hermia’s best friend and in love with James so the king and queen of the fairies Oberon and Titania get Puck to find love juice and make James fall in love with Helena. Puck puts it on Xander so he falls in love with Helena instead and then he puts some on James who also falls inlove with Helena. At the same time Puck makes one of the show entertainers bottom turn into an ass (donkey again people) and the love juice he has put on Titania makes her fall in love with Bottom.


Verdict on the Story:

As you can see apart from the actual names changing slightly for the boys, the story is practically the same as in the play. I think this is the closest adaptation to the actual play out of the four and it is great. The setting of the story in Dream Park is really good because there are so many places that they can go and hide and also there are lots of woods for walking so they can stick to the original story in the respect that they can elope to the woods.

The story itself is extremely enjoyable as it is absolutely hilarious. The whole concept of the story that this love juice can be created so that whoever you set eyes on first you will fall in love with is actually a recipe for disaster from the start if you think about it. I love the whole liaising between Oberon the king of the fairies and Puck who always get their wires crossed and cause problems. If you like a bit of magic and romance then you will love this story.

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Cast and Characters:

Dean Lennox Kelly – Puck
Johnny Vegas – Bottom
Bill Paterson – Theo
Imelda Staunton – Polly
Sharon Small – Titania
Lennie James – Oberon
Zoe Tapper – Hermia
Michelle Bonnard – Helena
Rupert Evans – Xander
William Ash – James


Verdict on the Cast and Characters:

The actors in this show are great and as I have said with all of the adaptations so far, you do not have to worry about any bad acting at all. Having recently watched Shameless I was quite excited when I knew that Dean Lennox Kelly was in it and he is brilliant as the mischievous Puck. The four leading actors who play the four star crossed lovers are brilliant and they get into character very well indeed and look like they have a lot of fun doing so.

The characters in this adaptation are just like in the play which is loveable and memorable. Every single one is strong in its own way and although there are lead characters they all outshine each other which is a strange thing for a show to be able to do. I think because it is a comedy it makes the characters watchable and because you enjoy watching them you will remember them afterwards.

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Things to know:

Runtime – 90 minutes.
BBC Production.

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The Actual Show:

This is a comedy show so expect a lot of fun and laughter from watching this. There are no nasty parts so do not worry about seeing blood all over the place and also there are no really rude parts although it is hinted at so do not worry about being embarrassed watching it with certain people.

The sets on this show are great as they are very colourful and fun looking and because it is set in the summer it makes the show seem very light hearted right down to how it has been filmed. This show is extremely fun and magical so if you want to see something a bit darker then watch something else.

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Verdict:

Ok now as I told you above this is my favourite play so they did have some work to do if they were not going to disappoint me and to be honest they managed it and I thoroughly enjoyed the show apart from the emphasis on what was happening with Theo and Polly which was not needed so much but overall the show was extremely enjoyable.

The story is very close to what is in the play so I cannot fault it too much there because they have got all of the main characters and points in there. I think the major thing that they did do well is still get over how the fairies think and how the four do react to each other very well and the dialogue is fantastic but I will stress to you once again that the prose is not like in the play which to me actually makes it seem easier to watch.

As I said above the characters are pretty wonderful and I loved them all apart from the parents as I thought they were pretty annoying because I did not really want to see what was happening to them but more the four lovers. My favourite character though has to be Puck as he is just such a little pain and creates such mayhem that you have to love him. The best part in the play and in the show is when Puck turns Bottom into an ass and then Titania falls in love with him. They did this very well in the film and although I am not particularly a fan of Johnny Vegas I thought he was great in this and

The one thing I am going to ask people who did watch it. Where was it filmed? The sets for this show are great and the so called Dream Park where they are supposed to be looks great but to me suspiciously like Center Parks. The cabins look great, the swimming pool looked like I could just go and jump in there right now and the bar looked futuristic. The fact that the sets were so great just made me and my sister keep saying I want to go there.

In conclusion I am going to give this adaptation four stars because although I loved it and thought it was brilliant I think they had too many scenes with Theo and Polly and to be honest they did get a little bit boring to me at times although I know people who loved it that they got a lot of scenes. Still worth watching though but for me not as good as the first two adaptations I reviewed.

Thanks for reading.

xxx

Summary: Good but not as good as the Others.