Atticus Cseh (Bottom), Piper Trounce (Puck), Lucy Layton (Puck) in Teen Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Jenny McDonald photo.
Sure, you can go to Bard on the Beach and see adults perform Shakespeare (MacBeth and As You Like It, to be sure).
But for those of who want to see one of the English scribe’s masterpieces interpreted by those not yet old enough to drive, we have Teen Shakespeare. This year the group brings, to an outdoor stage on Granville Island, A Mdisummer Night’s Dream (aka “The One With Puck”).
One of Shakespeare’s most popular works, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595-6) has been adapted and toyed with in books, television, comic books, and movies. The most recent big-budget adaptation was released in 1999 and features an all-star cast including Kevin Kline, Rupert Everett, and Michelle Pfeiffer.
The play itself is a comedy centred around the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. Before the nuptials can take place, however, we follow the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals). The latter are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. Other characters include Oberon, king of the fairies; Titiana, his queen; and Puck, Oberon’s mischevious sprite.
For the production from Teen Shakespeare, a program sponsored by Carousel Theatre for Young People, a cast of 18 actors, ages 13-18, plays the roles. Program veterans include Atticus Cseh as Bottom, and Bronwen Bente as Helena. Other actors include Dalia Currie, Sofia Day, Alexandra Haagen, Amitai Heyl, Aijaz Karim, Pascale La Riviere, Lucy Layton, Nico Pante, Saige Mackenzie, Favour Onosemuode, Fiona Rocchi, Isabel Rose, Gus Setala-Gay, Maggie Stewart, Piper Trounce and Cynthia Wei.
Piper Trounce (Puck), Lucy Layton (Puck), Atticus Cseh (Bottom). Jenny McDonald photo.
The annual Teen Shakespeare Program stages outdoor, all-ages productions on Granville Island with a festival-style village, concession, and activities for the kids before the show and during intermission. Admission is FREE but seating is limited, with premium seating available in advance for $6 per seat.
Carousel Theatre for Young People’s Teen Shakespeare Program presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream
When: July 27 – Aug. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Performance Works Outdoor Stage (show will be moved inside in case of rain) 1218 Cartwright Street on Granville Island
Tickets: Free (premium seating available in advance for $6 tickets.carouseltheatre.ca or 604-685-6217)
