The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 17.0979 Thursday, 2 November 2006
From: Al Magary <
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Date: Wednesday, 01 Nov 2006 23:07:26 -0800
Subject: The Multilanguage Dream
Shakespeare classic in seven languages
**Mark Brown, arts correspondent
The Guardian, Wednesday November 1, 2006
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1936139,00.html
It had reviews to kill for and was hailed as one of the greatest
productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream. But with only 12 performances
in the UK, the question was always, will it be seen again? Today it will
be announced that Tim Supple's Indian production of Shakespeare's play,
performed in seven languages with only about half in English, will
indeed be performed again - at the restored Roundhouse in north London
before going on a national tour.
The Guardian's Michael Billington called it the most life-enhancing
production of Shakespeare's play since Peter Brook's (a landmark 1970
Royal Shakespeare Company production), while the Daily Telegraph
predicted it would be talked about for decades. Those plaudits were
repeated elsewhere. The evolution of the production was in some ways as
remarkable as its execution. Supple was first commissioned by the
British Council in India and Sri Lanka to create a theatre production to
tour.
After a year travelling India the director brought together 23 dancers,
musicians, actors and performers for a seven-week rehearsal period to
create a production performed in English, Tamil, Bengali, Hindi,
Malaysian, Sinhalese, Marathi and a little Sanskrit. The designers,
composers and production team were also found in the subcontinent.
Supple said: "This production arose from the extraordinary artistry and
range of contemporary Indian theatre. Only in India does one find
2,000-year-old traditions alive alongside an entirely modern approach to
performance."
The original cast has been reassembled and it will play at the
Roundhouse for six weeks from March 8 before touring the UK at venues to
be announced. It will then play cities in India before a world tour.
Supple said the themes of A Midsummer Night's Dream - myth and urban
reality, the supernatural and spiritual, the trials of lovers and
struggles of workers - were all "thrillingly alive in India and Indian
theatre today."
*Related reviews*
09.06.2006: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Swan, Stratford
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/Arts/reviews/story/0,,1793835,00.html>
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