PRODUCTION TITLE
A Midsummer Night's Dream
AUTHOR
William Shakespeare
VENUES
Queen Square Bristol
DATES OF PERFORMANCE
5 - 17 July 2005
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Priyanka Gupta
Rosie Petit
CHIEF TECHNICIAN
Patrick Williams
STAGE MANAGER
Justin Palmer
SPECIAL COSTUMES
Sheila Hancock
CHOREOGRAPHY
Theresa Roche / Christian Roe / Kathryn Usher
COMPOSER
Dimitar Pentchev
WARDROBE
Bob Capocci
PROJECT MANAGER
Tara Jackson
ASSISTANT DIRECTION
Justin Palmer
DIRECTION
Miles Gregory
Notes:
Produced in association with R. Johnston
CAST
Hippolyta / Titania - Esther Biddle
Theseus / Oberon - David Pomerantz
Lysander - Matthew Parish
Hermia - Kate Burdette
Demetrius - Steve Clark
Helena - Kathryn Usher
Puck / Philostrate - Griff Jameson
Peter Quince - Jon Edgeley-Bond
Nick Bottom - Andrew MacDonald
Robin Starveling - Ruth Cateroche
Francis Flute - Asa Joel
Tom Snout - Christian Roe
Snug the Joiner / Musical performer - Dimitar Pentchev
NOTES
Edited programme notes
A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Text
"It is still a matter of significant debate whether the term 'bottom' was used in the late Elizabethan period to signify the 'bum', or whether it was used simply to indiacte the lower or underneath part of an object. The meaning of 'Bottom' as 'arse/ass' can be traced to the late 18th century, and can in turn be traced to a similar root as 'fundament' (late 13th century, meaning the buttocks or anus, from the Latin word fundare, 'to lay the bottom or foundation of something'). Given that Dekker's 'The Shoemaker's Holiday', written in 1600, contains a character called Mistress Frigbottom, it would seem that the debate will continue until more fundamental evidence is found to point in either direction. 'Ass' or 'Arse' meaning bum can be traced to around 1400 as a distinct term."
