Midsummer Nights Dream.mov

A Midsummer Nights Dream
music by Benjamin Britten
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow
26, 28, 30 June, 2 July 2004
director: Cathie Boyd
set, film and costume designer: Pippa Nissen
lighting designers: Colin Bell and Cathie Boyd
musical director: Tim Dean
choreographer: Kally Lloyd-Jones

There are three suspended screens across the stage; two are back projected onto plastic forming the background to the action and the larger screen is gauze at the front of the stage. Light boxes - both in the sky and on the ground - change colour throughout the piece as banks of landscape and the edges of architecture.
The electronic elements of the set and sound depict the magic within the libretto. For example when Bottoms head gets changed by Puck to an ass, it is shown on the monitor; and Puck at times only appears on the monitor and his voice is amplified to another place in the theatre. Colour goes through both the costumes, light-boxes and film. This mirrors both the emotions of the music and follows who is on stage; the mechanicals (brighter colours), the lovers (red), or the fairies (green).
The speed of the film is very slow on the 3 screens, and then moments of action are played on the monitors. Generally the slow film changes from evening, to dawn. The textures and colours of a magical forest dominate the film, and then the sparse lines of a building, formed in light form the last scenes in the palace.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Midsummer
• Nights
• Dream