A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Globe Theatre, London

A review of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a riotous and raucous production. Hot on the heels of my guided tour of the Globe, I am back for a live performance!

The Globe Is Back With A Bang. And A Bottom.

It was not so long ago I was thrilled to be back at the Globe for a guided tour. Well, only a month or so later I was back, this time to watch a play! The Globe have an action-packed reopening season so there will be plenty to see over the coming months. But first out of the gates is a revival of Sean Holmes’s 2019 version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

It is hard to emphasise how much fun I had. I haven’t laughed that much at the theatre since… well, definitely pre-Covid. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is silly and fun at the best of times. It’s got fairies, youngsters in love, and the ridiculous subplot of the play within a play. There’s all the innuendo you expect with Shakespeare, and a fair bit of physical comedy. And this production really dials it up a notch. There are bright coloured streamers, insane costumes, scooters and sparklers. Oh, and Bottom turns into a donkey piñata!

Perhaps it was prescient of Holmes to come up with this in 2019, because it is so exactly what we need in 2021 as we come out of the dreary months and months of lockdown. I read a review which was critical of the fact that this Midsummer Night’s Dream doesn’t get into all the dark and challenging corners of Shakespeare’s story. I couldn’t disagree more – I mean fine, there are some troubling aspects to the original (the Indian ‘changeling’ for one) but come on… Let’s see more bright and cheerful please, I have had more than enough of difficult and depressing.

A Midsummer Night’s Party

There are so many highlights to share with you. To begin with, since this is the beginning of the audience experience, the music is provided by members of the Hackney Colliery Band. They get the audience warmed up with a few games, and set the scene nicely for what is to come. So far, so good.

The energy of the production stays high as the actors come on stage. Double casting is fairly common for this play (ie. the same actors play Theseus/Hippolyta and Oberon/Titania, but there are a few twists here. Multiple actors share the role of Puck, for instance, and almost all actors play more than one part, with some incredibly quick costume changes at some points. They dart on and off the stage, pulling up masks whenever they are near the audience. An exception is Sophie Russell, who plays Bottom throughout. She is magnificent – so funny, over-confident and absolutely perfect for the part. George Fouracres is also a treat whenever he is onstage as Flute or one of the Pucks.

And the costumes by Jean Chan deserve a special mention too. The four lovers begin the play in very structured, futuristic, black and white suits with modern twists on the ruff. As the situation disintegrates, so do their costumes – a piece missing or askew each time they come back on stage. It’s a simple yet effective visual metaphor. And the costumes for Titania and Oberon are like there was a competition for the most over the top costume that was still wearable. I loved them. Although I couldn’t quite get over Peter Bourke’s resemblance to Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, all bouffant pastel hair.

Ok, enough raving from me – it’s brilliant, go see it! A fun night out even with low audience capacity right now, and comes with the Salterton Arts Review’s seal of approval.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 5/5

A Midsummer Night’s Dream on until 30 October 2021

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