We are currently in ‘Theatre in the Forest season’ and we don’t think you should miss out!
Don’t know what it is? This is a magical outdoor theatre performance from the amazing Red Rose Chain theatre group. As well as performances throughout the year at their HQ of The Avenue Theatre in Ipswich, they have their pop-up ‘Theatre in the Forest’ which is a month long run of shows at the incredible historic Sutton Hoo.
Watching theatre outside in beautiful surroundings is one thing, watching theatre while the sun is setting is another, watching Red Rose Chain perform ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is an evening full of enchantment and wonder which brings joy to all the audience members.
‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is possibly one of the easier plays to understand from Shakespeare’s repertoire, although don’t get me wrong, this performance is still full of the flowery language which I still can’t always get my head around, but the story can be grasped even though there are several fantastical subplots:
A royal wedding is coming as Theseus and Hippolyta are getting married, a group of actors are rehearsing for a play they are performing as part of the wedding celebrations, and four lovers pick through their complexities: Hermia is in love with Lysander, who fortunately loves her back but she is promised to Demetrius, who Helena is in love with. Within the forest there are magical fairies who like cast their spell and play with the humans to see what happens….
The Red Rose Chain performers have an ability to take Shakespeare to a different level, a level of fun, good humour, expression and energy. I’ve not actually seen a Shakespeare play which is so enchanting, engaging, enthralling and utterly fabulous. The performance is captivating from the moment you arrive in this fantasy world as the actors become these characters which tell the story. It doesn’t matter if you don’t always understand the words of Shakespeare as the actors performance, characterisations, facial expressions, voice, musical aptitude and use of props fill in any gaps.
The amazing cast are: Jack Haydon / Emily Jane Kerr / Vincent Moisy / Evangeline Dickson / Ailis Duff / Ted Newborn / Rei Mordue.
The artistic licence from Joanna Carrick is always charming, she is able to add in additional humour and original songs into the play which the actors obviously relish in. It all assembles to an incredible show for all ages.
The costumes and props are simple, yet colourful and then there are puppets. The puppets are the fairy entourage and are incredibly delightful and wonderful, and a super addition.
Every year I marvel at how good Theatre in the Forest is, and currently 2024 is one of the best. This is a highly recommended show, if you only go to one show a year, make it this one!