Yowza!
The imagery of the paintings Julia shared in rehearsal (see earlier post) point to the fractured, nightmarish possibilities for Hippolyta and Titania. More typically, we tend to focus on the ethereal qualities of MIDSUMMER (see images here I found online) -- dreams, the magic of the woods, luminism, idealization, youth. And yet even in my own reading this time I'm finding a darker side to the story. Drugged lovers (yikes!), conquered brides (yikes!), patriarchal rule (hmmm). Hardly the romantic view represented by the images above. Of course, Shakespeare is elastic enough to allow for many visions, but I am eager to see where Julia and the cast take us. Julia, can you tell us more about your view of the surrealist image, please?
Am halfway through the 1999 movie version of MIDSUMMER -- with Calista Flockhart, Kevin Kline, Michele Pfeiffer. Stanley Tucci makes for a very corporeal Puck....go figure. American screen actors and Shakespeare are always a tricky mix... More after the show.
For me, the framing device of the Theseus/Hippolyta wedding has always been disturbing, intriguing, and, as you point out, neglected in many productions of this play. "I woo'd thee with my sword, and won thy love doing thee injuries;" says Theseus. "But now I will wed thee in another key."
ReplyDeleteI just wince at the idea of a fierce Amazon forced into the role of blushing bride.
So we are looking at the bulk of the play (the forest scenes) as Hippolyta's dream, through which she is working out what's happening to her. And we took surrealism as a aesthetic touchstone for the set design.
Romance or nightmare? That's what's cool about working in collaboration -- it's not entirely up to me. My guess is that the answer will be : Yes.
I've been thinking about Hippolyta as Amazon. Woo'd by the sword is such a disconnect. "Doing thee injuries" is even more disturbing. Amazon/wife: oppositional hell. I wince, too, but I wonder and wonder and wonder about her being forced to do anything. Really? Forced? An Amazon? Can't wait to see the creative resolution!
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