A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is currently playing at Washington, D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre, must be a nightmare to direct.
One can emphasize its political accents, with Theseus’s decision to abrogate ancient Athenian law and introduce democratic consent into the structure of the aristocracy, or choose to weave a dream-like production, that places Puck and the comedy of the Mechanicals front and center. Doing both is next to impossible, if only because the theatrical elements of Midsummer tend to eclipse (when performed, not read) instead of shade, the deeper political philosophy of the play. Director Ethan McSweeny’s decision to make “all the different stories work equally well,” de facto settles the matter in favor of theatrics, and so we are treated to a Midsummer that delights the eyes in favor of enlivening the mind. But what delight you are in for!
