Critics are dreamy for A Midsummer Night's Dream
Daisy Bowie-Sell, WhatsOnStage
★★★★
"Her first show as artistic director at Shakespeare's Globe is a total hoot, a ridiculously fun, riotous piece of work that focuses in on the timeless, hilarious stories which thread through the Bard's play."
"This is an accessible Dream that will appeal to anyone who likes a bit of magic and a good party."
"Here though, it's all about the stories, and Rice is at her very best when she re-tells them in her brilliant, crazy, hearty way."
Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
★★★
"Rice’s most potentially contentious change, which sees Helena becoming Helenus, yearning desperately after Demetrius who sees marriage to Hermia as the best way to secure his place in society, works beautifully."
"The production understands the irrational power of Eros, but it never fully taps into any sense of the enchanted and uncanny. Even Puck’s final speech is unnecessarily undercut with comic business. For the first production in what has been dubbed The Wonder Season, this lacks a genuine sense of wonder and magic."
"As it is, it is an entertaining and rowdy night out in which Rice demonstrates that she understands the dynamic of the Globe and the groundlings demonstrate their willingness to go with her on a journey. It may not be the dreamiest Dream but it could be the start of a great love affair."
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
★★★★
"Purists may wish to head for the hills."
"Its spirit feels right. Those who feared Rice wasn’t up to the job – wasn’t bothered enough by the Bard – can, for now, take comfort."
"Much fun and games, then, but also seriousness, sadness, and troubling madness. The watching school-parties were transfixed. And I was too. Result!"
Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out
★★★★
"Her [Emma Rice's] first production for the Bankside institution is an absolute blinder."
"The bottom line is it's a bloody joy: ravishing, engrossing and laugh-out-loud funny. Rice has reinvigorated the Globe, but the Globe has reinvigorated her – Kneehigh’s productions have become somewhat repetitive in recent years, but this doesn’t feel like a Kneehigh production. It feels like Shakespeare, taken to his gloriously anarchic max."
Natasha Tripney, The Stage
★★★★
"All change. Emma Rice’s inaugural production as artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe is a bit of a ground-shaker. Her take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream is going to piss off as many people as it delights, but that’s part of its brilliance."
"Theatre often talks a good game about accessibility and diversity but this production just gets on and does it. Since being appointed artistic director in 2015, Rice has spoken a lot about gender imbalance and representation, about the way we people our stages – particularly in regard to the performance of Shakespeare – and she addresses all these things in this production."
"Attend and mark, Emma Rice now owns this glorious ‘o’. She rules."
A Midsummer Night's Dream runs at Shakespeare's Globe until 11 September.
