Midsummer nights dream ideas

Themes

This is how the faeries move compared to mortals – quickly - too quickly to see the movement. They appear to start to move, disappear, re-appear as they stop. They can move more slowly if they wish. What this enables them to do is dart in and out of the mortals, observing them. When interacting with each other we are in Faerie time and they appear to move normally (any humans would be very slow/ frozen – except the transformed Bottom who will have be brought into faerie time)

Quality of light/film. The contrast will be slightly different, or maybe the lighting. The Faerie will be darker, but sharper, more contrast. It should fade imperceptibly from one to the other as scenes change. Where faeire observe humans and it is in human time, then we have human colouring, but in Faerie time we have Faerie colouring.

A scene. Nothing actually changes, except maybe the focus or perspective, but suddenly something appears which had been there all the time but had been ignored/seemed part of the background. Suddenly is it the foreground. (Equivalent of seeing a vase and suddenly seeing two faces). This is a common trick for Faerie appearing.

The Faerie are part of nature and blend in/out of it easily/smoothly. They step out of trees which they are part of.

As the camera spins round a tree there is just a tree, but from another angle there is a faerie.

To be emphasised.
• Theseus/ Hippolyta’s rift with Oberon/Titania (and former lovers),
• “I wot not by what power I am made bold” which is said at the beginning and end.
• Helena’s father is referred to but never appears, and in the mechanicals play the parent’s roles are given out, but not used.
• (Note that the play within a play is a parody of R&J directly, but also of Hamlet (play within a play) to some extent.)
• The mechanicals play also reflects the love crossed by parental issues, and has an escape to the woods, reflecting the lovers plot.

Relationships

Oberon is powerful, dark understated power. But Puck is powerful too, maybe more mischievously, and so it seems less dark, but it can be darker.

He does not serve Oberon because Oberon is (necessarily) more powerful, but because it suits him to do so. The relationship is a subtle one – not quite equals, not quite master servant. Puck himself uses his power easily, lazily – fading into trees. Until the scene below he seems to use a light touch. Oberon more obviously radiates power.

They are angry, but it is a controlled anger – not that of adolescents, but of adults. You feel that they are holding back as they are too powerful to really fight. There is a sadness in Titania’s anger. This is not at first obvious in Oberon, but before he releases her from the enchantment he realises that his triumph is ashes, and the sadness is in him too. This is what ultimately leads to their reconciliation.

Initially antagonistic, it is the act of overruling Egeus which reconciles them. Both Proud, Theseus is trying to be considerate, but failing somewhat. Hippolyta does not approve of his enforcing of Athenian law (symmetry with reconciling lovers by Oberon and his subsequent reconciliation with Titania)

Scenes

Camera following a moth, flittering around the forest, close enough to be fairly detailed on the moth, but far enough to see enough background. Something catches the eye as the moth flitters by. The camera pulls out and there appears just to be a clearing, but something moves (perspective change/ background foreground switch) Puck fades into the foreground from something that was visible all along, but somehow was not recognisable.

The Queen’s fairy appears de-merging from the forest itself, probably the trunk of a tree.

Later when the queen herself arrives it is with much movement of the forest as her attendants flitter around and all appear from within the forest itself.

As the King comes the effect is darker, again the forest moves, but is with a chilling wind, maybe a slight darkening.

As the couple argue the forest reflects their argument, the King’s darkness verses the lighter fluttering of the Queen.

“I am invisible” foreground/background switch as Oberon fades into the background to observe. He should be visible at various points during the conversation, face appearing out a tree, may be causing a tree to trip up Demetrius at one point.

Oberon fades into the background again, but should be observed cradling his head, Puck is more active, darting in and out between the lovers, obviously enjoying it.

No theatrical devices! (1999 film had obvious device of winched bed! It looked like a filmed stage and not a film proper) The bed itself is made of trees/plants and they fold around the queen. Perspective trick to make bed appear. Faeries song does aural equivalent of perspective trick between natural sounds and ethereal song.

When Oberon approaches -announced to the viewer by the dark rustling of the forest – the guard faerie is nervous, looking round. Suddenly as he is looking over his shoulder Oberon is in front of him, and as he looks at Oberon he is mesmerised, frozen. Slight smile of satisfaction from Oberon.

Application of juice of flower is delicate, even loving. Only after it is done is there a satisfied smile.

“Wake when some vile thing is near” is an afterthought, said as Oberon is leaving, something that just occurred to him.

As puck says the line “I am feared in field and down” the moon clouds over and there is a sense in which everything has become background to Puck, slightly less real, or maybe Puck is slightly more real. (Reality/ faerie time swap?). Puck calling the powers of the world to himself.

He uses the forest itself to guide the lovers – voices, noises, blocking ways (but subtly – not big movements, but ways that were there are no longer, without any gross movement of the forest. Optical illusions based on the angles of seeing something (cf Labyrinth bit with the worm.)

He can gather the lovers with remote motions/gestures, but it always seems to the lovers like it is themselves doing the gathering.

Fading in from the trees the couple join and dance, spinning together in abandon. The image as it spins turns into leaves in a whirlwind, defining the dancers without the dancers being there.

As the leaves fall away Oberon and Titania are suddenly visible once more, still dancing. They continue into the forest, sometimes visible, sometimes defined by the movement of their surroundings

Moonlight plays on the wall and floor: change of perspective and it is Puck, sweeping the way before.

The dancers appear from shadows or suddenly become visible from somewhere they had been all along, but the eye has been fooled into seeing it as just part of the background – a background foreground “Swap”.

Their dance is more sedately and instead of leaves it is moonlight and dust that defines the dance when the dancers are not there.