Spectacle at the Theatre

The most impactful part of the class was most certainly seeing A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Pearl Theatre. While I enjoyed reading A Midsummer Night's Dream for class, I had still felt that something was missing. The text in and of itself felt bare, reminiscent of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. The text itself can be rich, but is nonetheless a mere shadow of reality without an engine to manifest itself. For me, this engine was the lively performance at the Pearl Theatre. When we first arrived, I didn't know exactly what to expect. If anything, I was expecting the actors to do a routine similar to the videos for the class. I expected an antique wardrobe and thick British accents—boy was I in for a pleasant surprise. Never did I expect five brilliant actors whom put on a rendition of the play that seemed to good to be true. Indeed, the Lindy Effect and variants thereof would posit that the survival of Shakespeare's work itself is proof of is timelessness—seeing the text incarnate solidified this notion all the more potently.

For one, seeing the play performed galvanized its comedic aspects. While a play about fairies, ass-heads, and talking walls couldn't have been less austere, seldom did I laugh out loud while reading the text. While watching the play, on the other hand, I had to try and suppress my laughter at numerous points in the play so that those around me could still hear the performance. Among others, the primary source of my enjoyment emanated from Jason O'Connell's portrayal of Bottom. While he comes off as an egomaniacal dilettante in the text, Bottom is played with a refreshing clarity. It was perhaps O'Connell's micro-expressions that added to his part most substantially. The subtleties of Bottom's character were captured with mastery, and made the play all the more enjoyable. It is these minor subtleties that can only be manifested in a performance, and is what makes Shakespeare's plays  most enjoyable.