Necessary Cat’s Double Bill
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “★★★☆☆ Funny”
Julius Caesar: “★★★★☆ Relevant”
Braw Venues @ Hill Street (Venue 41): Mon 11 – Sun 24 Aug 2025
Review by Hugh Simpson
This year’s double bill from Necessary Cat, playing Hill Street for the last fortnight of the Fringe, brings together comedy and tragedy in the form of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar.
The wildly contrasting moods of the two plays are handled by the same cast and crew with considerable grace. Unlike previous years, where the double bill has consisted of a Shakespeare tragedy and a closely related, more modern play, this year’s offering is Shakespeare all the way.
Oberon, Titania and Egeus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Pic: Angela Harkness Robertson.
Both productions are presented by director Angela Harkness Robertson in stripped-down versions. They have large casts and are cut to fit into 90-minute slots, with minimal sets, most of the original words and subtly modernised settings.
This works better in the case of Julius Caesar, with its hints of modern populist politicians and timeless questions of power, than it does with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is now set in the ‘Athena music festival’.
nifty T-shirts
The presentation of Theseus and Hippolyta as rock star royalty is fair enough, but why the mechanicals (apparently the stage crew) would be rehearsing a play to put on at the festival is anyone’s guess. And since the fairies are clearly still fairies, it’s not clear how they fit in. Although the concept does lend itself to some witty set decoration and nifty T-shirts.
The Mechanicals. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Pic: Angela Harkness Robertson.
Both productions display a commendable desire to put across the rhythm (and rhyme) of Shakespeare’s words. Unfortunately, this can become over-eager. Together with the haste necessary to fit it all into the time available, and the intimate setting, it does sometimes lead to the inescapable feeling that the cast are shouting at us.
Once again, this works better in Caesar, with its grandeur and high style, than in the comparatively frivolous goings-on of the Dream. Where the Dream does score highly is in its more flowing nature; there is a pleasing pace to the play, culminating in a beautifully-staged, very funny Pyramus and Thisbe.
spine-tingling
Caesar, meanwhile, builds up real momentum in the first half, with beautifully-staged crowd scenes, culminating in a spine-tingling scene of the speeches after the assassination. It does then fall away to an extent. So many productions struggle to know what to do with the last two acts, with the war campaign and a parade of new characters who pop up from nowhere.
Caesar and crowd in Julius Caesar. Pic: Michael Nicol.
Here, the answer seems to be almost to throw them away, the last two acts taking little more than twenty minutes. There is little fighting (what does appear is well arranged by fight and intimacy director Rebecca Mahar), and the new characters are unexplained or oddly combined. There are other examples of less-than-clear storytelling; the Cinna the Poet scene is almost impossible to follow.
Much of the rest, however, is very good indeed. Joshua Fleming’s Brutus is noble, beautifully conflicted and genuinely first class; their scenes with Cooper Mortlock’s sleekit, short-fused Cassius have a crackle and power to them.
populist rabble-rouser
Daniel Brammer’s Caesar has an almost Trump-like self-belief, while Robert Elson’s consistently interesting Antony is very much the populist rabble-rouser. Antony is often portrayed as a self-serving, self-interested politician, but not often to this degree – there are definite hints of a certain floppy-haired ex-PM.
Killing Caesari. Julius Caesar. Pic: Angela Harkness Robertson.
There are other noteworthy performances; Wendy Brindle’s Casca in particular combines a respect for the words with a striking naturalism.
The Dream, meanwhile, has a real feeling of ensemble. The mechanicals – Chris Pearson, Frank Skelly, Fleming, Sean McGavin, Mortlock and Bodhran Mullan – are a pleasing bunch. Fleming’s Flute has considerable charm, while Skelly’s Bottom (despite being saddled with an ass’s head that makes some of his dialogue difficult to decipher) is very funny.
poised and comedic
The quartet of lovers – Mahar, James Scott, Matthew Topping and Kaycee Renee Wilson – have a spark and energy that is highly convincing. Brindle and Neil Shand (doubling as Hippolyta/Titania and Theseus/Oberon) have considerable presence. Ewan Robertson’s Puck is poised and comedic, with his occasional acknowledgements of the audience well-judged.
Demetrius and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Pic: Michael Nicol.
The large company, most of whom appear in both productions, is completed by Caitlin Allison, Lithia Chan, Hayden Gray, Colin Thompson and Connor McLeod, who all discharge their roles with skill.
There are other elements of the productions that need to be mentioned. Dug Campbell’s composition and sound design, particularly for Caesar, is very good indeed. The incorporation of BSL into the fairyland scenes in Dream (with Shand as consultant) is very well done, while Duncan Robertson’s technical work is impressive.
marathon stint
The whole company deserves credit for their efforts in what becomes something of a marathon stint, particularly in an oppressively stuffy acting space. Perhaps, in the end, they have spread themselves just a little too thin across the two plays, but the contrasting double-bill is intriguing. If you only have time for one, however, Julius Caesar is certainly the recommendation.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Running time: One hour and 35 minutes (no interval).
Braw Venues @ Hill Street (Dunedin Theatre), 19 Hill Street, EH2 3JP. (Venue 41).
Monday 11 – Sunday 24 August 2025.
Daily: 6.15pm.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Antony speaks at Caesar’s funeral in Julius Caesar. Pic: Angela Harkness Robertson.
Julius Caesar
Running time: One hour and 35 minutes (no interval).
Braw Venues @ Hill Street (Dunedin Theatre), 19 Hill Street, EH2 3JP. (Venue 41).
Monday 11 – Sunday 24 August 2025.
Daily: 8.15 pm.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Monday 11 – Sunday 24 August 2025
Daily: 6.15 pm
Facebook: @necessarycat
Instagram: @necessarycatlimited
X: @CatNecessa89795
Puck, Oberon and Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Pic: Angela Harkness Robertson.
Bottom Titania and Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Pic: Angela Harkness Robertson.
Pyramus admonishes Wall for his hole in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Pic: Michael Nicol.
ENDS
Comment
Angela Harkness Robertson says
Sat 16 August 2025 12.10pm
This year’s Necessary Cat slate wasn’t meant to be a double bill like previous years – it was deliberately two distinctly separate plays to showcase the range of our actors. We’re therefore disappointed that the two productions were lumped together – this wasn’t done for other companies who put on two (or more) shows. I appreciate we work to an unusual model in that our team is essentially the same for two shows, but still.
