Until 2 days ago, I didn’t know the story of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. But my school got free tickets to this performance. Since I secured free tickets to their last Shakespeare play “Julius Caesar” 5 years ago, I was determined to attend this performance, even if it meant committing suicide by chaperoning hyper-energetic students.

I just love how the Singapore Repertory Theatre gives Shakespeare’s plays a contemporary feel and an uniquely Singaporean spin. Instead of the woods, it’s set in an oil refinery city. It’s just so amazing admiring its impressive frame and watching the characters climb the ladders like monkeys and appear and disappear from all its nooks and crannies. It set the tone for scale and depth and just injected lotsa fun. My students wondered why the characters could disappear all of a sudden and wanted to jump down into the hole.

The bad thing about watching it with students is that I had to explain the plot to them so that they could get the gist of what was going on. One boy made an offhand remark that Puck would make Lysander fall in love with Helena - and he was right! I mentioned to his mum before that he has 小聪明 (sharp mind) and am glad to be proven right. Anyway, this just shows that at the heart of it all, Shakespeare’s plays are about human nature. That you can still appreciate his wry observations even if you don’t understand his brand of English.

If you read reviews, you’ll find that most reviewers commend on how riotously fun it is. I don’t disagree with them but honestly, I think SRT’s rendition bordered on the 无厘头 (nonsensical). I thought that the final act was just a 闹剧 (melodrama). Now I don’t need my dramas to always inspire me with poignant reflections of the human experience - but roaring lion and fans and moving wall and dancing Queen - Come on!

That isn’t to say that I didn’t have a whale of a time. I didn’t feel compelled to check my hp. My students didn’t clamour to go home during the intermission. Roaring indicators of success.

It was great fun to 疯 (let loose one’s crazy self) with the energetic characters from the @singaporerepertorytheatre, especially when they came so close to the audience at times!