A Midsummer Night’s Dream review: glorious fun at the Globe
We have all seen it before. It’s the fail-safe Shakespeare play destined to put bums on seats, or in the Globe’s case: destined to put feet in the playhouse.
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream is performed in school halls and theatres across the land: we all remember the story of the amateur actors, the warring fairies and the lovers.
Given it’s been performed so many times, producers are desperate to do something different. In the recent successful production at the Bridge Theatre, it became a modern story filled with trapeze artists and plenty of fun.
This production at the Globe takes the fun to the next level: it’s got bubble machines, live music and plenty of audience participation.
I know what you’re thinking. Audience participation makes my skin crawl too. But this really is wonderful. Audience members are approached before the show starts, so you don’t need to worry about being picked to make a fool of yourself on stage.
It makes it an even more inclusive play, designed to be enjoyed by literary scholars and philistines alike.
Bottom is always the best character, the one we expect to be entertained by. Adrian Richards does not disappoint. He parades around wearing a Hamilton t-shirt with the audience in the palm of his hand.
The Rude Mechanicals - his theatre troupe - is the stand-out grouping of the show. I found the fairies fairly entertaining, but the Athenians were unfortunately forgettable.
It’s bound to be a blockbuster summer run for this joyous production which doesn’t take itself too seriously.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is at Shakespeare’s Globe until 29th August.