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CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE ON THE TIME OUT BAHRAIN WEBSITE
Shakespeare in Bahrain
Shakespeare 4 Kidz brings A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Bahrain
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In our humble opinion, few people have done more to make the Bard more appealing than Shakespeare 4 Kidz. The UK company, which last year successfully brought the blood and guts of Macbeth to our stages, is renowned for transforming Shakespeare’s complex works into something understandable and – more importantly – enjoyable for young theatre-goers.
This month, S4K brings its own, musical version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays – to the Bahrain Alumni Club in Adliya. With a script by Julian Chenery and a songbook by Matt Gimblett, ably assisted, of course, by Mr Shakespeare, the show uses only the most famous original lines and slots them into modern language so that everyone, from the youngest primary school tot
to the most Bard-baffled adult, can understand.
Time Out Bahrain caught up with Julian Chenery, S4K founder and the play’s director.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a far cry from Macbeth, which you brought to Bahrain last year. Why have you gone from Shakespeare’s darkest to his lightest play?
The kids loved the story of Macbeth – it’s exciting, spooky, has a few murders in it and ends up with a thrilling swordfight. ‘The Dream’ was the first show we ever wrote back in 1996 and the first one we produced in 1997. There are three intertwining stories set around a forthcoming Royal Wedding in Athens. Most of the action takes place in the woods at night, where a mischievous hobgoblin called Puck causes mayhem with a magic love-potion. As you say, it really is a load of fun and is enjoyable for both cast and audience alike.
Why is A Midsummer Night’s Dream so appealing to kids?
It appeals equally to both boys and girls – it’s very funny with two central comedy performances from Puck (Noel Andrew Harron) and Bottom (Sean Luckham), both of whom are making their fifth visit to the Gulf with S4K. They are definitely the kids’ favourite characters: Puck as he’s so mischievous and Bottom because everything he does makes people laugh.
Yes, kids and Bottoms are always a good combination. Do you think Shakespeare’s humour is naturally appealing to kids? Or is that something you’ve had to work on in your production?
To be honest, Shakespeare is probably one of the worst joke-tellers of all. Quite often when you see a production and there’s a joke coming, you get about four very well-educated people in the audience laughing before it’s even told… and they’re the only ones who are! But our skill lies in framing the drama of story-telling with physical humour and, let’s face it, slapstick humour is funny, whether it’s people falling over or a pie in the face. Wit, rhythm, repartee – be it physical, verbal or just the way the characters look and stand and whether it’s Shakespeare or not – works. That’s very much a part of what we do.
In Macbeth you used lots of special effects to make the show more exciting. What do you have planned for this production?
There are two settings. Part of the play takes place in Athens, which is very civilised, very sophisticated and very regulated. Then you’ve got the magical, mysterious woods where you’ll find the stars, the lights and the magical effects. It looks wonderful.
Are you finding your shows are becoming increasingly popular and why?
It’s our fifth time in the Gulf – we started in 2007 with A Midsummer Night’s Dream and have subsequently brought across Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth. We tell these world-famous Shakespeare stories in a way that is accessible, enjoyable and understandable – combining education with entertainment.
What’s next and when are you coming back again?
We’ve got something very special for our 2011/12 UK and international tour. We’re making a movie of S4K’s Romeo & Juliet and we’re revamping the theatre show to make it look as much like the film as possible. From the scenery and video walls, to the costumes and choreography – from next year all of our theatre shows will have a direct link to our new movies.
By Time Out Bahrain staff
Time Out Bahrain, 30 December 2010
Don't miss it!
S4K’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is showing at the Bahrain Alumni Club in Adliya from Saturday, January 15 until Monday, January 17. Performances are at the following times: January 15, 4.30pm, January 16, 11am, and January 17 at 8.45am and 11.45am. Tickets are available from Al Osra on Budaiya Highway, Razmatazz on Budaiya Highway, and Havajava cafe in Manazel. Ticket prices are BD16 for adults, BD13 for kids.
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VAT in the UK rises from 17 1/2% to 20% from Tuesday 4th January 2011.
Until we complete the changes to our PayPal buttons, website visitors who use our PayPal system to purchase from S4K may still receive an automatically generated invoice/receipt that shows VAT at the "old" rate. The gross price will remain the same and an amended invoice showing 20% VAT will be supplied with your purchase.
eg A DVD will still cost £20 but the 2011 net cost will be £16.66 instead of£17.02. We hope to complete all the online payment changes as soon as possible.Happy New Year!
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CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS ARTICLE ON THE EYE OF DUBAI WEBSITE
Live the Dream at DUCTAC
A family-friendly musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night''s Dream at DUCTAC.
Getting to the Bottom of the Bard.
Fairies and fun, royalty and romance, magic and misunderstandings: A Midsummer Nights Dream has them all and more. So, little wonder this enchanting play is one of the most popular ever written.
The Bards comedy gets a magical transformation from Shakespeare 4 Kidz, whose musical version has proved a huge hit every time it has toured.
This child-friendly adaptation of the play visits DUCTAC in January, a venue where the actors have already made many friends through their previous tours, including Macbeth this year and Romeo and Juliet the year before.
Who can resist the fabulous story of a Duke marrying his Amazonian queen, two sets of lovers who elope into the woods where the audience finds feuding fairies and a naughty sprite called Puck, whose mismanaged magic causes no end of hilarity?
And not forgetting the group of Athenian workmen rehearsing a play to entertain the royal couple at their wedding celebrations.
Bottom is one of theatres funniest roles. Audiences are guaranteed a great laugh when Pucks prank puts an asses head onto him and fairy queen Titania wakes up and promptly falls in love with him.
Audiences and reviewers have been loving S4Ks show, which started in September last year.
Noel Andrew Harrons outrageously camp Puck has become a firm favourite with the kids who, says The Stage are all clamouring to be his friends by the end of the show. Sean Luckhams ebullient Bottom is another big hit.
The show also features the star of the summers musical Hairspray at DUCTAC. Antony Stuart-Hicks, who played Edna Turnblad, doubles as Peter Quince and grumpy old man Egeus.
The Dream is one of six S4K titles, following on from the 2009/10 national and international hit tour of Macbeth.
Every S4K show uses the whole Shakespearean plot, slotting the most famous original lines into modern language so that everyone even the youngest primary school children can understand. The script flows so easily that most people dont realize that approximately 20 per cent of it is in Shakespeares own words.
Adults in the audience who have previously been baffled by the Bard will find that they can at last understand what it is all about!
There are also songs, dances and lots of spellbinding effects as the fairies create a world of wonder in the woods.
S4K has plenty of celebrity fans, who sent good luck messages for the tour. Dame Helen Mirren described The Dream as the Avatar of Shakespeare, with something to be enjoyed by all age groups, a great message and lots of fun and fantasy.
Others adding their support were Dame Judi Dench, Victoria Wood, Graham Norton, Jason Donovan and Barbara Windsor.
S4K promise a Dream show for all the family. So, why not fly away for some fun with the fairies.
Performances at DUCTAC are at 8.45 and 11.45am from January 10 to 13. The show is also at the Alumni Club in Bahrain on January 15 and 16 at 4pm and January 17 at 8.45 and 11.45am.
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GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BARD
Fairies and fun, royalty and romance, magic and misunderstandings: A Midsummer Night’s Dream has them all and more. So, little wonder this enchanting play is one of the most popular ever written.
The Bard’s comedy gets a magical transformation from Shakespeare 4 Kidz, whose musical version has proved a huge hit every time it has toured.
This child-friendly adaptation of the play visits DUCTAC in January, a venue where the actors have already made many friends through their previous tours, including Macbeth this year and Romeo and Juliet the year before. Who can resist the fabulous story of a Duke marrying his Amazonian queen, two sets of lovers who elope into the woods where the audience finds feuding fairies and a naughty sprite called Puck, whose mismanaged magic causes no end of hilarity?
And not forgetting the group of Athenian workmen rehearsing a play to entertain the royal couple at their wedding celebrations. Bottom is one of theatre’s funniest roles. Audiences are guaranteed a great laugh when Puck’s prank puts an asses head onto him and fairy queen Titania wakes up and promptly falls in love with him.
Audiences and reviewers have been loving S4K’s show, which started in September last year.
Noel Andrew Harron’s “outrageously camp Puck” has become a firm favourite with the kids who, says The Stage “are all clamouring to be his friends by the end of the show.” Sean Luckham’s ebullient Bottom is another big hit.
The show also features the star of the summer’s musical Hairspray at DUCTAC. Antony Stuart-Hicks, who played Edna Turnblad, doubles as Peter Quince and grumpy old man Egeus.
The Dream is one of six S4K titles, following on from the 2009/10 national and international hit tour of Macbeth.
Every S4K show uses the whole Shakespearean plot, slotting the most famous original lines into modern language so that everyone – even the youngest primary school children – can understand. The script flows so easily that most people don’t realize that approximately 20 per cent of it is in Shakespeare’s own words.
Adults in the audience who have previously been baffled by the Bard will find that they can at last understand what it is all about!
There are also songs, dances and lots of spellbinding effects as the fairies create a world of wonder in the woods.
S4K has plenty of celebrity fans, who sent good luck messages for the tour. Dame Helen Mirren described The Dream as “the Avatar of Shakespeare, with something to be enjoyed by all age groups, a great message and lots of fun and fantasy.”
Others adding their support were Dame Judi Dench, Victoria Wood, Graham Norton, Jason Donovan and Barbara Windsor. S4K promise a Dream show for all the family. So, why not fly away for some fun with the fairies.
Performances at DUCTAC are at 8.45 and 11.45am from January 10 to 13. The show is also at the Alumni Club in Bahrain on January 15 and 16 at 4pm and January 17 at 8.45 and 11.45am.
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