This joyful, acrobatic comedy is the party of the summer
8 / 10
The production loses some momentum in the scenes with the lovers, who are pleasant but largely two-dimensional. But the Rude Mechanicals, led by Felicity Montagu’s Mistress Quince as a long-suffering adult education facilitator, present a truly uproarious staging of Pyramus and Thisbe that’s also touching in its dedication to teamwork, however chaotic. Emmanuel Akwafo is charming as Bottom, dressed in a yellow boilersuit, who is both innocent and deeply serious about his art (“It’s in the round!” he hisses at the Wall). It’s a play in which the whimsical and the serious intertwine and joy prevails. Topped off with a finale filled with a group dance and giant moon-like beach balls floating over the pit, it’s the best party of the summer.
