A Midsummer Night’s Dream
★★★★☆ Dreamy
The Royal Scots Club (Venue 241): Mon 11 – Sat 16 Aug 2025
Review by Hugh Simpson
Arkle’s presentation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Royal Scots Club for the Fringe’s second week is an extremely impressive, thoroughly enjoyable affair.
Shakespeare’s evergreen comedy of romantic entanglements, magic, fairies and overly earnest amateur thespians, crops up at the Fringe more often than just about anything – there are four separate productions this year alone. But you would have to go some to find a better, sharper, more straightforwardly accessible production than this one.
Niall Thomson, Alastair Lawless, Calum Rosie, Jenna Donghue, Pat Hymers and Hannah Fitzpatrick. Pic: Rob Shields.
The play has been cut down to a brisk hour and a half, but still has a pleasing coherence. Judith Walker’s direction is purposeful and clear, with a large cast cleverly deployed.
There are some things that are as pleasingly done here as you are likely to see. The quartet of lovers are impressive; Calum Rosie’s Lysander is plausibly dashing to the point of self-love, while Jenna Donoghue’s energetic Hermia is a delight.
authoritative
In a cast who are notably strong at speaking Shakespeare’s verse, Niall Thomson and Gracie Roxburgh, as Demetrius and Helena, are particularly so. Thomson is very good at putting across the meaning of the words, while Roxburgh does remarkably well at conveying Helena’s mental anguish at apparently being tricked.
There is purpose, too, in Pat Hymers as an authoritative King Theseus, and Alastair Lawless as the strait-laced Egeus. While it is often suggested that Theseus’s intended Hippolyta may not be delighted at the prospect of their upcoming marriage, rarely can she have looked as appalled by the prospect as an upright Hannah Fitzpatrick does here.
Zander Nisbet, Bev Wright, Phil Barnes, Esther Gilvray, Mark Anderson and Helen E. Nix. Pic: Rob Shields.
The mechanicals, meanwhile, are played with real spirit. Esther Gilvray’s Peter Quince is every inch the tremendously keen but out of their depth theatre director, while Zander Nisbet’s Flute has great fun with his reluctant portrayal of the female lead. Helen E. Nix, Mark Anderson and Bev Wright are strong as the other members of the troupe, with Nix’s wounded pride at the courtly characters’ heckling of their performance beautifully done.
It is the blustering, oblivious Bottom, of course, who is the focus of the comic sequences, and Phil Barnes plays the part with a self-obsessed naïveté that is extremely charming. The way his ass’s ears stick up whenever Titania nears him is a rather neat touch, too.
diligently discharged
The inhabitants of fairyland are also diligently discharged. Bronagh Finlay is a regal Titania and John Lally a thoughtful Oberon. Anaïs Prévost, Madison Turner and Mari Gillin are poised as Titania’s attendants.
Alison Porter’s Puck, meanwhile, is simply outstanding. The combination of mischievous glee, recognisable emotions and a definite air of creeping otherworldliness, allied to some more beautifully clear speaking, is exceptional.
Niall Thomson, Calum Rosie, Gracie Roxburgh, Jenna Donoghue, Helen E. Nix, Mark Anderson, Esther Gilvray, Bev Wright, Phil Barnes, Zander Nisbet, Hannah Fitzpatrick and Pat Hymers. Pic: Rob Shields.
The only real drawback to this production is that while it is very good at getting over the meaning, it is occasionally at the expense of the poetry. For example, Oberon’s ‘I know a bank where the wild thyme blows’ speech retains all of the lines that are necessary to advance the plot, but eliminates much of the lyricism. While this may be necessary in a cut-down version, it does have the effect of making Oberon and the others somewhat less magical than they might be.
prosaic note
Similarly, Oberon and Puck’s white linen suits strike an oddly prosaic note among the dinner jackets and ballgowns of the court characters, and the mechanicals’ loud shirts and flat caps.
The costumes give it a timeless feel, something undermined by a succession of cheesy songs from the late 80s and early 90s whose presence seems to be part of a theme not carried through elsewhere.
However, a pacey production, well lit by Rob Shields and benefiting from Craig Robertson’s sound, scores very highly in other areas, rounding out a top-notch evening double-bill for Arkle’s final Fringe.
Running time: One hour and 35 minutes (no interval).
The Royal Scots Club (Hepburn Suite), 29-31 Abercromby Place, EH3 6QE. (Venue 241).
Monday 11 – Saturday 16 August 2025.
Daily: 8.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Arkle website: arkle-theatre.com/
Facebook: @ArkleTheatreCompany
Alison Porter and John Lally. Pic: Rob Shields.
ENDS
