Ryan G Hinds: life is a Midsummer Night's Dream old chum
26 Jul 2023

by Drew Rowsome - Photos by Dahlia Katz

"On our first day of rehearsal in the park, I couldn’t stop smiling because I kept seeing the memories in my head," says Ryan G Hinds of his upcoming role in A Midsummer Night's Dream. "The beautiful guys I’ve kissed on sweet summer dates at Dream in High Park over the years, the camaraderie of the friends I made volunteering, golden hour down at the pond, the anticipation on the hill of the show starting, and especially the dashing Jamie Robinson—then an actor, now the director—striding confidently onto the stage. It feels wonderfully full circle to be doing the thing I love, back where I spent my teenage summers. Making communal magic is what theatre, and specifically this play, is all about, so being a small part of creating the communal magic that is Dream in High Park is a special and beautiful experience that I’m grateful for."

Hinds, despite an extensive and varied acting and directing resumé—Lilies, Sarah/Frank, Two Kittens and a Gay Man, MacArthur Park Suite, Bent, and #KanderAndEbb at the Stratford Festival—is billed in the promo for A Midsummer Night's Dream as “celebrated cabaret artist Ryan G Hinds.” Is Shakespeare that different from a voice and a piano? "It’s a huge challenge," says Hinds. There is a similarity in terms of keeping the storytelling energetic, but the language and rhythm is totally new to me. Cabaret is an intimate solo art form, and this is a twelve person cast with a huge creative team and the Canadian Stage Company machine behind it. I’ve learned Shakespeare requires a specificity that doesn’t let you get away with working in the broad strokes musical theatre sometimes requires. Before rehearsal started, I was really nervous about it all, but once we started, my learning curve rose. With a piece like #KanderAndEbb, it was very much about honouring John Kander’s music and Fred Ebb’s lyrics, but William Shakespeare comes with even more cultural baggage. Whether it’s iambic or prose, people expect to hear it in a certain way, but our director Jamie Robinson [Copy That] has given us so much freedom to interpret the script. We’re not deviating from the lines, but he explicitly said 'we are pulling Shakespeare to us, we’re not going to Shakespeare.' The approach is a great mix of the rigorous and the personal."

Hinds is playing Peter Quince, the director of the Rude Mechanicals. "The Mechanicals are heaven for comedic actors," says Hinds. "Even though Quince is herding kittens with his cast during rehearsal, he has written the most purple of prose and mangles his own prologue. His performance of the role of the moon can be taken seriously with real commitment to finding the moon’s majesty, grace, and stillness. Of course, one of the secrets to comedy is to treat it seriously and not play it funny: which makes it all the more ridiculous. Quince may be ridiculous, but his moon has dignity. I also understand Peter’s need to captain a room and for the show to go on. Our production makes it clear that the Mechanicals are all unionized workers, and labour issues are important to me. Lastly, Peter takes his role in the Mechanicals’ performance extremely seriously, as do I. There’s nowhere he’d rather be than in rehearsal or onstage, and I can really relate to that."

A Midsummer Night's Dream has been performed multiple times in High Park, as recently as 2018, but according to Hinds, this time is unique. "With Jamie’s goal of 'pulling Shakespeare towards us,' he identified some strong themes of climate change and ecological collapse in the text. Audiences will get the lovers, fairies, mechanicals, and royals they expect, but will also get an explicit impression of a world in collapse and what happens when humans inflict themselves on nature. I also play a fairy who’s loyal to Oberon, and in the transition from human world to fairy land, it’s myself, Steven Hao, and Angel Lo, who bridge the worlds. It’s not lost on me that it’s three queer and racialized performers who pull the audience away from normalcy and into a new world of fresh perspectives, magical adventures, and sexy moments in the woods. It’s a beautiful sequence to play."

Hinds raves about the players as well, particularly Quince's chief foil. "Everyone needs a good enthusiastic Bottom in their life! Aaron Willis is not only funny and endearing, he’s been someone I approach for help with Shakespeare when I don’t know what a word means or how to say something. Quince may be the director, but Bottom is the star, the glue that holds the Mechanicals together, and Aaron’s well suited for that. From the first read, Vincent Leblanc-Beaudoin, Angel Lo, Julie Tepperman, and Aaron nailed the Mechanicals and have been warm and open collaborators. I know I’m really hitting my strides when I’m able to crack them up. Every member of the cast is delivering, from recent theatre school grads to people with Stratford experience and extensive Shakespeare/classical training. We have a cast that is relishing this experience and will give our audiences a memorable night in the park. They’re all gorgeous, too, and reflect the society and culture we live in, something that was not always the case when I was younger and attending Shakespeare productions. Jamie has lead the show with intelligence, humour, and patience. He’s not the kind of director who separates himself from the team or hides behind a table. During our breaks, he’s backstage dancing to Usher and Spice Girls with us. He’s really helped make it the fun, ideal summer experience I was hoping it would be. To quote one of the fairies, I would follow him 'Over hill, over dale, Through bush, through brier, Over park, over pale, Thorough flood, thorough fire.'”.  

Hinds is not even fazed by the notorious weather, bugs, bats and rampaging children that are part of the High Park Ampitheatre performing experience. "We’ve already had rehearsals interrupted by a dog who broke in from the dog park," says Hinds. "But Canadian Stage is going above and beyond by taking care of us with air-conditioned dressing rooms, cooling devices, frozen treats when it’s hot, and shelter with advance planning for when it’s stormy. As for everything else? That’s the magic and fun of live theatre, and I cannot wait to play with each situation as it comes up. When the casting call went out, I had wonderful memories of being a volunteer at Dream in High Park and then running the concessions booth as a teenager. It’s an ideal way to spend the summer and I thought maaaaaybe here’s my chance to go back and dip my my toes into Shakespeare with a director I knew to be wonderful and supportive."

The experience is going so well that Hinds has no hesitation about naming his future dream Shakespearean roles. "I’d love to be one of the 'wyrd systers' in Macbeth, for sure. I adore Falstaff’s voracious lust for consumption, and since I always love villainy, Iago would be lots of fun, as well. For the first time ever, I’m now interested in studying Shakespeare and doing some training. I loved my time at Stratford with #KanderAndEbb because I was there with my show on my terms, but it would be interesting to go back with some new skills."