Riotous Fun at A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare's Globe

"The course of true love never did run smooth."

And how it did indeed run riot in this absolutely stellar production of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre!

I felt a tingle of excitement from the moment the actors stepped out on stage in their renaissance costumes and I continued to be riveted throughout this madcap, highly inventive staging of one of Shakespeare's most beloved plays. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy and indeed we were kept laughing as this comedy of errors unfolded. 

Commanding the stage were West End stars Janie Dee and Aden Gillet in their double roles as Titania/Hippolyta and Oberon/Thesus whose strong performances really drew the audience into the story. You could feel that perceptible discontentment they had with each other, which led Oberon to play a trick on Titania by bewitching her, causing her to fall in love with the ass-headed Bottom. In this regard, the portrayal of the fairy folk as they were as earthy woodland creatures with antlers and skins, was a surprise, but one that was appropriate to convey the raw, sensual nature of the woods and also Titania's attraction for Bottom. 

The four Athenian lovers were delightfully young and their love for the object of their desires appropriately and shallow. This was brought to life by richly comedic performances, causing it not to be too difficult to imagine Lysander's and Demetrius' overnight turn of heart from Hermia to Helena. 

But the biggest laughs were reserved for the rude mechanicals, whose earnestness shone through even as they fumbled through their preparations for the staging of their play. Their final play-within-a-play of Pyramus and Thisby had the whole audience hooting with laughter, with the actors all crammed on a stage which was far too small, sinking their feet into unreliable floor boards that required urgent repairs even as the show had to go on. 

It was a lot fun. What I loved best of all is that this production made us fall in love with Shakespeare again and admire the sheer genius of his writing. All the lines which I worked so hard to memorise, all that clever use imagery and word play that my teenage self slaved over picking out of the script, they jumped out at me as I watched this show. Shakespeare, like music, is best heard and experienced than read. Then only do you truly experience the magic.

I had high expectations for this production and I was blown away. This is A Midsummer Night's Dream as you would probably have experienced it during Shakespeare's time (with a couple of funny local touches thrown in)! The last show is tomorrow. Please don't miss this!

A Midsummer Night's Dream is now on and runs only till the last show on Sun 16 Nov, 3pm. Click here for more ticketing information.

*We were invited to watch this show for the purpose of this review. All opinions remain authentically our own.