Introductory Workshops: 13th and 15th September, ASHS
Rehearsals: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 20th September
Performances: 25th and 26th November
We are delighted that the Youth Theatre - for young people aged 9-16 - will be starting again in September. The next production, Bottom’s Dream directed by Tony Winn, is a very funny, shortened version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Introductory workshops will be held on Tuesday 13th and Thursday 15th September from 6.30 to 8.30pm in the main hall at Archbishop Sancroft High School (ASHS) in Harleston. Rehearsals will continue on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with performances on 25th and 26th November. There is a participant fee of £15 for those taking part in the production. The introductory workshops are free.
Tony writes: Bottom’s Dream is a cut down version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream ideally suited as an introduction to Shakespeare for less experienced actors.
This adaptation puts the ‘rude mechanicals’ at the centre of the plot – these are ‘hard-handed men’ (or women), the artisans of Athens – a bunch of workers who have this brilliant idea of putting on a play for the nobles to celebrate a wedding. They are not very good at this and the end result is very funny for all the wrong reasons. During rehearsals, Bottom the weaver has a strange encounter with some fairies and is temporarily transformed into a donkey, with unfortunate and hilarious results.
Nobody should ever be afraid to tackle Shakespeare. The language can seem a bit challenging at first but, with a bit of guidance, once you get into it, it becomes surprisingly clear. We have plenty of time and I can promise a very enjoyable experience with a hilarious end product that we will all be proud of.
The cast numbers are 9 with doubling or 17 without doubling. Gender is immaterial.
6 MECHANICALS – workers
5 FAIRIES
OBERON & TITANIA – King & Queen fairy
THESEUS & HIPPOLYTA – Duke & Duchess of Athens
PUCK – chief fairy
PHILOSTRATE - clerk