Company Carolina stages ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ for Shakespeare on the Quad

William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is set in a magical forest, so it’s appropriate that Company Carolina staged its production of the play among the trees of Polk Place.

The show keeps the audience engaged with innovative outdoor staging and energetic acting, but the acting lacks believability at times.

The actors draw the audience into the dreamy depths of the forest for the inaugural play of the company’s Shakespeare on the Quad series, which the company hopes to make an annual event.

The company takes a lighthearted approach to the whimsical classic, in which a ragtag group of amateur actors and four Athenian lovers find themselves in a feud between the king and queen of the fairies.

At times during Saturday’s performance, the actors had to compete for attention with the various distractions of the sunny spring day, but the actors project their lines with energy.

With that projection, the actors sometimes muffed the phrasing of lines, making segments of dialogue difficult to follow.

They achieve the delicate balance of volume, phrasing and fervor in the energetic scenes. Proclamations of love by the Athenians and devious musings by the fairies give the show elements of passion and intensity.

Sophomore Gentry Hodnett — who plays the fairy queen Titania — gives a fiery performance that complements the carefree performances of the mischievous attendant fairies who flippantly flit about the stage.

Elliot Darrow plays Puck, the fairy servant who is the jester of fairy king Oberon and the main perpetrator of farcical mayhem in the play.

Darrow is a master of motion, dancing lithely through the trees and controlling the play’s tempo with his well-timed pranks.

But the play’s dynamic choreography sometimes falls flat. The pushes and shoves of the frustrated lovers are forced and translate poorly to the emotions of their dramatic dialogue.

On the other hand, the company excels with the play’s comedic scenes. Bill Odette, who plays actor Nick Bottom, uses his asinine lines to his full advantage while in scenes with the play’s band of actors.

Their half-witted demeanors make the show entertaining for children and adults alike — though some of the humor is not entirely appropriate for all ages.

While children may not pick up on what the duke is referring to when he mentions his “sword,” the sensual kissing and caressing exchanged by Titania and Bottom had many adults whisking their children out of the audience.

Though the energy levels of the show waver at times, the production delights overall with the fickleness of lovers, bumblings of Bottom and shenanigans of sprites.

Contact the Arts Editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.