A Midsummer Night's Dream

Synopsis

On a midsummer's night Hermia and her lover Lysander flee from Athens and Demetrius - the man Hermia's father favours as a son-in-law. Demetrius follows, pursued by Helena who loves him in spite of being spurned in favour of Hermia. On the same night Bottom and his friends leave Athens to find somewhere quiet to rehearse their play which is to be performed at the wedding feast of Duke Theseus. Drawn into the woods they enter a world of magic, mystery and wonder.

Our Review:

21 January 2009

Gregory Doran’s production (itself a revival of his 2005 show) has finally hit London and it’s easy to see why it has gathered so many plaudits. This is a refreshingly funny take on Dream, a production that has eschewed the Freudian touches and the overt sexuality and has reinvented the Athenian woods as a place of mystery and magic.

Right from the start, the comedy is brought to the fore, when the audience is presented with the comical contrast between Edward Bennett's square and buttoned-up Demetrious Tom Davey's rakish and slightly boho Lysander. Too often, the lovers tend to be bland, almost-cypher like characters but not in this production. Kathryn Drysdale's fiery Hermia is not to be trifled with and she and Natalie Walter’s bespectacled and dull-looking Helena complement Bennett and Davey to make a lively quartet.

Doran's most striking innovation is the use of the fairies as both a type of Greek chorus and as the instruments of ...

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Latest User Review

Donald - 1 February 2009:

Not that sexy (!) but a lovely production - Donald...

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