Mary Reid

The androgynous fairies that opened Edward Hall's all male production of A Midsummer Night's Dream wore both. This was just one strange but captivating element in this highly inventive staging of the play at the Rose.

I loved it. It's magical and funny. Do catch it if you can before the end of the week.

The all male, colourblind casting - no, stop there. I ardently dislike the term 'colourblind' in this context, although I fully support the underlying thinking. The concept, of course,  is that the physical features of actors - height, colour, disability, age - should not be an issue when casting a play. The only exception is where such a feature is crucial to understanding the text or portraying the character.

Shakespeare makes several jokes about Helena's height, so it is essential that the actor is taller than the one playing Hermia (although this could be achieved, I suppose, by high heels). 

The reason I dislike the term 'colourblind casting' is because the audience is not blind to an actor's physicality.  It is part of what they present to us on stage.  But non-traditional casting can often add extra depth and life to an interpretation of a role, as indeed does happen with an all male cast. Hence a joke that Shakespeare did not envisage occurred as Helena broke into broad patois when pushed to extreme anger. It was a knowing acknowledgement of the actor who was bringing the character to life, not a denial of it.

There is a point in any campaign for equality when the inequalities have to be expressed rather forcefully and the strategy has to be described in anti-discriminatory terms. So at a time when black actors were only being cast in black character roles it was necessary to use the 'colourblind' term. Hopefully the theatre has moved beyond that now.

Which brings me to the talk of the theatre world this week - Lenny Henry as Othello. Now that is a part where ethnicity is central to the character. Could a white actor ever play it again?

It is a remarkably bold move for a comic actor who has never acted on stage before - but it could be quite thrilling to see a fresh interpretation which will not be overlaid by years of actorly tradition.

The Northern Broadsides production of Othello with Lenny Henry will be at the Rose from 21st to 25th April.  I've been told that it is already difficult to get tickets for some performances, so do book soon if you want to see it.