Midsummer Night's Dream

This is an image of Andrew Allan’s radio adaptation of William Shakespeare’s
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The radio play was was broadcasted on Sunday, 
April 20^th 1947 from Stage 47 in Toronto, Ontario. The broadcast was originally 
set to begin at 8:30 PM, however, from this copy of Lister Sinclair’s manuscript,
the production began at 7:00 PM.

 
Since Shakespeare’s plays were created for stage presentation, Allan had to
make significant edits to the text in order to successfully convey the story
of A Midsummer Night’s Dream via radio broadcast. Narrative introductions
begin every scene throughout the broadcasted production. Following suit with
the example of comedy, Allan maintains the metrical structure of prose. These
introductions allow the plot to develop.

For instance, the opening scene of Shakespeare’s original play begins in Athens
at the Place of Theseus. The scene, featuring Theseus, Hippolyta, Philostrate,
and the attendants dives right into the story; but, as shown in the image, Allan’s
adaptation begins with Titania (the Queen of the Fairies), a narrator (Lister Sinclair),
a proclaimer, and Bottom (the play’s comic relief).  By implementing an alternate
introduction, Allan sets up the plays context. Allan’s adaptation suggests that the
play is fictional, and that it is simply a comedic story about a forest filled with
magic and wonders. Allan leaves his listeners with an inside joke when the narrator
suggests that the play could have taken place in Athens, or that it could have taken
place in Stratford where Shakespeare’s plays were performed, or Stratford, Ontario,
Canada where Shakespeare’s plays were also performed. 

The image on the right is a list of the actors, as well as an important piece
of information regarding Shakespeare’s influence on the ‘Golden Age of radio’.
Andrew Allan and the staff at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC),
believed that Shakespeare was so important to the arts, that this production
of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was specifically timed to commemorate what
marked Shakespeare’s 383^rd birthday. At the top of the page, the announcer’s
part reads, “… offered in humble recognition of Shakespeare’s birthday, which
will be observed this week.” 

This proves that Shakespeare goes beyond the realm of cinema and stage
performance in Canada. In this era, Shakespeare maintained an enormous
impact onradio. The productions of Andrew Allan and other staff members of
CBC Radio, had a specific sensibility for Shakespeare’s comedic cleverness and
tragic tribulations. This, reflects the legacy and influence which Shakespeare
held over Canadian broadcasting.