Hooves on Fire (RSC Dream 16 Blog) : A Donkey's Tale by the Nonentities Bottom: "I am Spartacus !"

I am Spartacus ! No…I am Spartacus…..well actually I am NOT Spartacus. I'm Bottom…well technically speaking the actor playing Bottom in  "A Midsummer Night's Dream"at the RSC….rewind..I'm actually one of 14 Bottoms from across the UK who like the 14 Quinces, the 14 Flutes, the 14 Snugs, the 14 Starvelings and the 14 Snouts, have been selected to play the rude mechanicals in the RSC touring production of the Dream.

For some reason I'm reminded of the old mathematical riddle about the person going to St Ives, who meets a man man with seven wives. In Dream, we have numerical combinations of weavers, tinkers, carpenters, tailors, joiners and bellows menders. And for those who are mathematically challenged like myself that's a big truckload of amateur actors representing these roles. And just like the man going to St Ives (who had to encounter a veritable crowd of people on a probably very narrow coastal path), all of us in our companies are on a similar journey.

There's no doubt that Bottom is an iconic role, but he/she is only one sixth of a group of people who have come together to put on a play. And that's the brilliance of Dream 16. It could have been oh so easy to just select 14 actors across the country to play the role of Bottom; but what Dream 16 has done is tapped into the very heart of amateur theatre where the actors who perform in these groups all have other jobs during the day. Like the mechanicals themselves, they come together to create theatre.

I love the team element of this project. The Mechanicals are a group entity and while some may see Bottom as the 'main role' in this team, without the other 5 he (or she) is actually nothing. Without a Quince to lock horns with, a Flute to duet with, a Snout to impress, a Snug to roar at and a Starveling to  tailor for, Bottom has no one to bounce off. He can't kick dramatic ass without those fellow actors around him. Each mechanical has their part to play and the fact that for the vast majority of the play they always appear onstage together, suggests to me that Shakespeare was 'well into' showing the solidarity of these players, united in an art from they all love.

Someone once said there are no small parts, only small actors. While Bottom may have a lot to say for himself in the mechanicals scenes, the dialogue and interactions from the others-no matter whether its one line or ten lines-is crucial to helping the audience understand the bond these fellows have. Yes they may disagree, yes they may not be too vocal-but at the end of the day they are all important in their own right.

Our journeys as companies to the promised land of performance with the RSC and at the RST rely on that team work and support. We all have a voice and the opportunity to document that individual journey. We as a whole group of 84 actors and 14 directors are part of a huge team of performers, complimented by the professionals at the RSC.  That is brilliant.

I am Spartacus !  Actually, we all are…….