“The way I see it, I’m directing Shakespeare for my 70-year-old dad,” laughs Jeremy Hutton, director of Hart House Theatre’s upcoming production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “My dad always falls asleep during movies, he always has, ever since I was a kid. So basically when I’m directing, I stage it as if I’m trying to keep my father awake for the whole show. And if I can do that, I feel like it’s a success.”
Hutton sits in the bowels of the theatre, stroking a newly-sprung scruffy beard and smiling nervously. In the brick-laden underbelly of Hart House, the sounds of a matinee performance of Romeo and Juliet echo from above, prompting Hutton to pause every so often and scan the room thoughtfully. Hutton has worked for Hart House Theatre for five years, directing their annual Shakespeare show. This year, he takes on the energetic and beloved comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream with what he describes as the best cast he’s ever had at Hart House.
“The cast is big, and I feel pretty lucky to have this kind of talent. They’re strong actors who make strong choices. I mean, we’re not just standing around and resetting Shakespeare.”
His rendition of the well-known tale of crossed lovers and fairy tricks takes place in Athens in the late 19th and early 20th century—a period which Hutton believes exemplifies the paternal and repressed society that Shakespeare portrayed.
“It’s barren, stuffy, dark, mean, patriarchal, and then this gypsy caravan pulls up onto the stage, and this chaos of colour enters the world. The lovers leave this world into the forest, where they have license and possibility,” Hutton explains. “With possibility comes licentiousness. And the fairies give them freedom. It’s free, transient, moving and flowing. They go to a place where anything is possible and everything is permissible.”
Hutton explains that they’ve hired specific dancer/actors to play the roles of the gypsy fairies. He also promises that by the end of the play, all four of the lovers will have lost most of their clothing. But, he continues with a wry grin, there won’t be any breasts or genitalia in the show.
“I mean, my original idea was just to get them all naked and covered in body paint, but the theater wouldn’t go for it,” he deadpans. “I mean, boobies!” He stops.
“No, there’s no boobies, and I didn’t actually want them naked,” he back-peddles, as a member of the publicity team looks up from his desk with a concerned glance.
“But seriously, the show is energetic, dead sexy, and not your grandmother’s Midsummer… there’s obviously a lot of sexual humour, and I have great actors who are ready to exploit that aspect. And I’m ready to go down that road as long as it’s hilarious—and not awkward. It’s a hard line to toe, especially because we have a few high school matinees lined up, with grade nine-ers. If things get too risqué, we get some teacher complaints.” He pauses for a moment. “I think we might actually get a few this time around.”
“As a director, I like a sense of play,” he explains. “I find that if actors aren’t enjoying what they’re doing, the audience can definitely tell. Even if I’m doing a horribly depressing tragedy, I want the actors to have fun, and I want the energy to spark.”
All in all, Hutton has come a long way from his first experience with A Midsummer’s Night Dream, where he led a chorus of Pucks and donned bright green trousers, a silver cape, and nothing else.
“I got quite a few bruises during that show,” he muses.
*A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs at Hart House Theatre from Nov. 20 to Dec. 5. Student tickets are $10-15. For more information, visit harthousetheatre.ca.*
