A Midsummer Night's Dream (2014)
April 4, 2017 7:34 PM - Subscribe

The play presents love in all its glory, warts and all: Love at first sight, innocent love, love twisted by the mind, by drugs, by lust, by jealousy, by a marriage on the rocks and even violence.

I know this film from Julie Taymor has been touring elsewhere for the last year but it only just premiered in Sydney, Australia this weekend. I wanted to post it here to say that I found this to be a most extraordinary experience. In place of being able to see this performance live, I still found that this was a fantastic way to experience the magic.
In particular, the performance of Kathryn Hunter as Puck was mesmerising. Max Casella (Bottom) and all of the players turned in standout performances too. The audience were rolling with laughter at some of the scenes.
The special effects (no CGI there!) were also very well done, from the hilarious opening sequence to the hallucinogenic plants and Oberon entrances.
I have never seen an audience stand up and clap at the end of a movie show, but they did this Sunday afternoon.
posted by unliteral (2 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I'm looking forward to this. Taymor is a great and imaginative visualist. Some of the images from her Titus have stayed with me for years.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:51 AM on April 6, 2017


See this if you can! It was staged and filmed at the Theatre for a New Audience Polonsky Shakespeare Center, which is a great space that Taymor really knew how to use. Beyond that, she did a great job of capturing the performance onto film. The shooting and editing were gorgeous and seamless.
posted by whuppy at 2:06 PM on April 7, 2017


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