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:

10 July 2012

When putting on a Shakespeare production, how do you please both purists yet give audiences something truly original? Ask the Lyric Hammersmith and Filter because their production of A Midsummer Night's Dream is the craziest take I have ever seen, but it still manages to make you laugh out loud and is really accessible.

The show opens with stand up comedy as host Ed Gaughan pokes fun at everything from Kate Middleton, soap opera actors and the audience. His wit is fast and furious and sets the scene for what it to come next - as his act is unpredictable and off the wall, yet he acts as a link between A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Royal Exchange. I could have watched him all night. In the play itself, his impression of Al Pacino reading a section of the text as if he is over acting in Scent of A Woman - is inspired and priceless.

If you sit ...

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Latest User Review

Luke Moore - 10 August 2012:

The spirit of A Midsummer Night's Dream remained intact and the multi-talented cast brought the show to life. I didn't go expecting to see anything other than what the show billed itself as - a complete reworking of the text, rather than just an updated presentation of it. There are plenty of opportunities to see this particular play in a more traditional production, but for a Monday night, some comic relief and truly engaging theatre in the round, this worked exceptionally well....

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