AN all male Shakespeare company called Propeller is bringing its version of the magical A Midsummer Night's Dream to the Wycombe Swan this month. Chris Myles, who is playing Bottom, spoke about his excitement for the show and how growing up in High Wycombe sparked his love of performing.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of William Shakespeare's best loved productions and Propeller's version has an all male cast. In the show, love and illusion collide when two pairs of lovers become entangled in fairy mischief on the eve of a royal wedding. Dreams and reality become interchangeable and romantic chaos ensues.

Propeller regular Chris Myles is playing the mischievous Bottom. I spoke to him when he was still in rehearsals.

He said: "I'm pretty much terrified but also it is exciting. We know we have done the work. We know it is about time 500 people saw it and we will know if the parts that are supposed to be funny are funny.

"It gets to a point where you just need an audience.

"It is the biggest jump you ever do in the process. As many times as you run it through in the rehearsal rooms with the company directors and a few friends it is never the same as on the big stage."

James Tucker returns to the company as Titania, queen of the fairies, with Darrell Brockis as her king, Oberon.

Chis is over the moon to be playing Bottom.

He said: "It is a pleasure. He's enthusiastic and has a love of life. It is lovely to play a character who is essentially an optimist.

"He sees the good in everyone and sees possibility everywhere in love. He likes hanging out with his friends and he's a enthusiastic dramatist. Every actor likes to play someone who likes to play act."

Bottom is famously known for getting his head transformed into a donkey by the elusive Puck within the play, which means Chris has to wear a pair of false teeth.

He said: "I have got just about used to the teeth- making sure everything you can say is heard and it doesn't sound like you are lisping all the time.

"It takes a little bit of practise. It really is the case of wearing them as much as possible and getting used to talking with them in, especially in the lines.

"I only have them in for two scenes.

"I had a pair playing Bottom before - about four years ago. "I suspected I had kept them in my top draw at home.

"I had taken them home and scared the children a few times."

Chris, who is 46, lives in Hackney with his wife, Rachel and two children Freddie, eight, and Grace, six.

But he grew up in High Wycombe and went to the Royal Grammar School. His mum live in High Wycombe and his sister in Penn. He took part in school plays and was part of the Wycombe Theatre Company, which he said no longer exists and was run by Margaret Wooster.

Chris said: "I think I caught the bug in Wycombe- at school and at the Wycombe Theatre Company. When I went to uni I did plays all the time.

"I didn't go to classes and I got a third in modern languages. The only thing to do was to go to drama school."

And it was his dad which sparked his love for Shakespeare as he would ask Chris to read out lines from Shakespeare plays so he could guess which one it was.

And he said he particularly loves the way Propeller represents Shakespare's stories.

He said: "It is all ensemble work. You are all in the rehearsal room all the time. You are all on the same wage.

"There is never a feeling there is a star or a more important performance than anyone else."

He added: "We are often all of us on stage supporting the action. It is a group effort telling our variation of a Midsummer Night's Dream. "It is a gorgeous play. It is wonderfully written. It is almost perfect. It has three intertwining stories and that is then brought together."

Propeller's A Midsummer Night's Dream is at the Wycombe Swan in High Wycombe from November 26 to 30 at 7.30pm with a Wednesday and Saturday matinee at 2.30pm. Tickets range from £10 to £25. To book call 01494 512000 or go to www.wycombeswan.co.uk

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