A Shakespeare show set at an 80’s prom?... this should be interesting

review by Denby Fortune

March 9, 2017

            This performance of A Midsummer Nights Dream, set at an 80’s prom was performed by the Trinity Repertory Company. The 80’s themed prom concept seemed intriguing at first, but once the show started it was obvious the theme didn’t fit with the story. This idea of a Shakespeare show being set at an 80’s prom could have been very successful, but in the end it was not. Although the theme was poorly executed, the actors did not give up on putting enormous amounts of energy into their acting, which later backfired when their acting became too much.

            One major flaw of the 80’s themed prom concept was that most of the show not set at a prom. The show started out at the prom, but after about 15 minutes, the setting completely changed to the forest. It was not until the end of the show when they finally returned to the prom. Due to these confusing scene changes, it was hard to follow where they were and what exactly was going on. Since it was somewhat confusing where the actors were, they had to hold up signs saying “We are now at the forest”, and “We are back at the prom”, which took away from the the believability of the show. Another flaw about this theme is that the script of the show didn’t fit in with the setting at all which caused it to seem forced. Most of the time, when actors do something that is unrealistic, the audience is able to accept that and have fun with the show. During this show it was hard for the audience to have fun due to the fact that the actors could not execute the right mood, which caused the show to be awkward.

            Actors who tend to over act are hard to believe during shows that have a complex story. Some of the actors in this show began to overact when it became obvious that the show wasn’t doing well. When actors over-act, it makes it hard to follow exactly what us going on, all of the focus is on their way of acting and not on the story. Also, when the show contains a complex story, it is important that the actors execute the mood of the story well. Another flaw of over-acting it just simply not being able to understand what the actors are saying. In this show, the language is very different from how we talk now, which forces the audience to pay more attention to the words they are saying. If the actors are hard to understand, then the story might not come across very well which causes the audience to become lost.

            The idea of setting A Midsummer nights dream at an 80’s prom was an interesting and intriguing idea, but was poorly executed by this cast. The actors lost the audiences’ interest when they were not able fully execute their theme. The setting ended up being in the forest, which made it confusing to the audience why they would set the show around an 80’s prom. Along with the theme of the show being poorly executed, the actors were difficult to watch and enjoy, due to their over-acting. Overall, it was evident that the cast had a difficult time executing the 80’s theme, which caused the actors to overact and made the show hard to get through.