John Agnew
Northern News Services

NNSL (July 16/99) - Add theatre to your list of things to do outdoors this summer.

Lunchpail Theatre has taken William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and adapted it for performance along the Frame Lake Trail.

Director Angela Carruthers has brought her endless enthusiasm and boundless energy to the task of staging an Elizabethan comedy on the Canadian Shield.

To make the play more mobile she has reduced the extensive cast to six and given the actors two or three roles.

The performance starts at Petitot Park and makes its way down the trail. The landscape serves as both the set and the theatre and the results are delightful.

Shakespearean purists will no doubt take exception with some of the choices Carruthers has made with the script, but none of her choices interfere with the entertainment value.

The story is a fanciful tale of love, confusion and midsummer magic.

Shakespeare's English can intimidate those unfamiliar with his work, but Lunchpail's gang of regulars have risen to the occasion. The lines are delivered clearly and crisply. The performances are energetic and entertaining.

Stalwarts Ken Woodley and Jodi Woollam both infuse the show with charismatic verve.

If you know Shakespeare, this is your chance to see it on the rocks. If you don't think Shakespeare's for you, go and enjoy an evening outdoors, you may just come away a theatre fan.

There will be performances on July 22, 23 and 24. People who have difficulty walking may have trouble getting from location to location during the evening.

Bring some bug dope and, if I was going again, I would bring a light picnic supper rather than rush dinner to get to the show. Either way, get to the show.