A re-read of - Shakespeare’s MND.

  

   Or how dreams became hallucinations. 

In a Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” project, called STHRUP, led by Ph. D. Georgi Niagolov, students re-interpret the classical comedy of William Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, breathing new ideas and vision into it, to create a parody that is to challenge the perceptions of all.

The crew has chosen a rather curious setting for the plot of the play – a psychiatric hospital.  Having in mind that in Shakespeare’s time the most magical place was the forest, the place where unexplainable events took place and where supernatural creatures dwelled, it is only natural  that in a modern world the alternative should be an asylum. Not for any other reason, but mainly because the society of today regards magic as gibberish and considers magical creatures a whim of the wit. And after all the leading theme of the original is “Love makes us act crazy”. What better place to be crazy than in a psychiatric hospital?!

The main theme of “Midsummers Night’s Dream” is to be further exploited. Contrast as the leading tool for comedy in the original, in this modern re-read, is further reinforced by the doubling and tripling of  roles that the students have chosen to perform. For instance, if we take the characters of Theseus and Hippolyta who in this project will be represented as doctors who during the day flirt and toy with the idea of getting married, but when night falls and the calmness of the day is put to and end reveal a rather curious perspective of the life of couples that are actually married, we can find it relatively easy to explore a more psychological view on the relationship between two people who are about to enter into matrimony.  The way they imagine marriage to be, and the way it actually is to be. And this all presented with a touch of youthful charm and sense of humor.

This group of young talented people has chosen a unique way to represent the magical – all occurrence of magic is seen as hallucinations of the characters caused by the taking of medication which functions  as a key to an alternative reality, if I may be allowed the frivolity to define madness as alternative reality of behavior. With the help of the charming nurse which embodies both Philostrate and Puck, the main characters take the wrong pills and their emotions get mixed, but there is no magic to this – it is a simple misunderstanding caused by the wit of a charming fellow. This rather realistic touch to the original, in fact, adds further to the comical and shortens the distance between the understanding of the modern society about love an what Shakespeare wanted to ridicule in his comedy.

A personal favorite is the doubling of the two couples Hermia-Lysander and Helena-Demetrius. Since Hermia and Helena are to be played by one and the same person, and Lysander and Demetrious as well, it would be rather curious how the contrast between them would be represented. But our wonderful company of ingenious students has an unexpected answer even to this problem: the characters would be in fact two schizophrenic patients who suffer from multiple personality disorder. A wonderful resolution, indeed.  Because the failing of these love birds to match the two pairs of compatible personalities in order to achieve an ever-yearned “Happily-ever-after” is to be the most comical part of the whole play.

As a conclusion, this modern re-read of the classical “Midsummer Night’s Dream” succeeds to not only reveal the talent of both students and professor, but also aims to challenge the perceptions of the public. As a fair-minded follower of the progress of the project, I am looking forward to its completion in the autumn of 2012. It sure has the potential of greatness that no other “regular” reading of this play previously had.

Good luck, my fellow students!