Colombo Critic.com

I’ve heard of starting things with a bang… but starting things with a fag? Most theater productions wait at least a half-hour before parading the stereotypical fruitcake in front of the audience, a cheap laugh as a last resort when things are slipping downhill. Last nights’ rendition of Pyramus and Thisbe chose instead to hand the role of narrator to the most overly overacted gay character since Michael Holsinger pranced around onstage in last years Elizabeth. It was unfunny, unforgivably over the top, jarring, abrasive and definitely not worth the price of admission.

Do I believe in fairies? Yes, I do. I saw one last night. And I ain’t clapping for it.

The introduction was followed by dancers who were a delight to watch and almost made up for the bad start. And then came Nick Bottom and his merry band of drunkards. To be honest, if I wanted to see drunkards I’d head over to the junction down the road at one in the morning and watch some for free. Having to pay for the ‘privilege’ of watching this bunch of nitwits borders on abysmal bad taste.

Or so I thought at first…

A Synopsis

Well, this is an adaptation of Pyramus and Thisbe and one that does take more than a few unorthodox twists and turns. Wikipedia’s article would be a good starting point and reading up on A Midsummer Night’s Dream might help too. Still, prepare to be surprised.

The Cast

Again, don’t know and don’t care. Lots of actors acting, dancers dancing, actors dancing, dancers acting, drummers drumming and gymnasts…. jumping around and doing what gymnasts do best. All very busy, very colorful and very over-the-top. All of them very good at what they do for the most part.

The Stage, Sound and Lights

The British Council garden makes a surprisingly good stage for this kind of production. The performers have a lot more space to play with than most theaters. The best seats in the house are probably in the fourth row where you should also be safe from the rain and the audience participation segment. Lighting was elaborate and well done. Sound included canned music and a lot of drumming. All of it was very dramatic and very good. My only gripe was that some of the speakers were overdriven, though it seems that that’s a fairly common problem not limited to this production alone.

In Summary

My first impressions of this play were bad… very bad. But things got better. While we saw less and less of the dancers, the drunken ‘actors’ got better, more cohesive and were joined by other performers that more than made up for the earlier shock to the system. A lot of the humor was too crass for my taste but went down well with the audience. Just be prepared for the repercussions if you take your kids along.

This is a complex, daring and exuberant performance and while I feel it wasn’t as focused and coherent as it could have been, I found it enjoyable despite its flaws. A definite must see.

I believe that this is the second time in two years that this play has been performed. While I’m glad that I got a chance to experience it my comments for Chatroom apply here too.

Next time, get a better fairy.