Martin Duncan's Opera North staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream, first seen in 2008, relocates Britten's Shakespearian opera to the late 1960s, appropriately enough for a work that deals with mind-bending substances and the erratic, often transgressive nature of desire.
On paper, the idea might sound faintly simplistic. In actuality, it makes for clever, subtle musical theatre – wonderfully funny at times, and perfectly aligned throughout with the sexy-yet-sinister magic of Britten's exquisite, if uneven, score.
The Athenian wood – remarkably constructed from corrugated Perspex by Johan Engels and populated by cherubically creepy, black-winged fairies – is a place where inhibitions fade and emotional boundaries blur and shift. There's a tangible erotic charge between James Laing's handsome, androgynous Oberon and Daniel Abelson's feral Puck. The scenes between Jeni Bern's rapturous Tytania and Henry Waddington's endearing Bottom have extraordinary tenderness, as well as great wit.
The quartet of lovers, stripped of pretensions and clothes, squabble and fight suggestively in their underwear. Theseus's court, where desire is constrained within marriage and a rather cruel humour reigns, seems chilly and formal in comparison.
Musically, much of it is terrific, though the noisy admission of latecomers on opening night intruded on the first duet between Oberon and Tytania – a great shame, given that Laing and Bern are both outstanding in their roles. Quirijn de Lang (Demetrius), Sky Ingram (Helena), Andrew Glover (Lysander) and Kathryn Rudge (Hermia) manage to quash the usual criticism that the music for the lovers is below the standard of the rest of the score. Waddington is about as good as it gets, as is Nicholas Sharratt's hilarious Flute. Stuart Stratford conducts with great insight and passion. The playing is gorgeous.
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