📍Southwark Playhouse

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Shakespeare’s classic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream typically conjures images of lavish, flowery set pieces with flashes of bold technicolour and drippings of green vines. Southwark Playhouse’s interpretation of the play offers something entirely new, steering the wonder and enchantment of the piece towards a much cosier aesthetic.

Upon walking into the space, we are met with what is unmistakenly a child’s bedroom. Warm lighting bathes the soft patterned rugs and wallpaper; a wooden horse sits idly in the corner; a piano and toy box frame the stage. There is a nostalgic and hugely evocative feeling to Georgie White’s set – it could have easily belonged in Narnia or Mary Poppins. The effect is transportive and perfectly sets up the playfulness of the next hour and a half as the premise for this new interpretation becomes instantly clear.

As the action begins in what is decidedly not Shakespearean verse, the six cast members fill the space as a group of young children. Again, this feeling of nostalgia is present in the costumes and script which transport to a early 1900s setting. This group of children are putting on a play for their grandmother: Robert wants to have a dramatic death scene, Nancy wants there to be love, and Cecil just wants to play a ‘really naughty fairy’. In the first of many meta moments, Nancy announces that she has an idea for a play which would include all of these ideas (cue knowing laugh from the audience). And thus, we are promptly brought into the world of Shakespeare through their ‘ad-hoc’ play. It is almost as if Midsummer’s Mechanicals have been scooped out of the original text and reimagined as small children eagerly play pretend for their grandmother – so clever and utterly charming!

This premise – though fairly simple – was brilliant in its execution. With dozens of children in the audience, and the production’s performance schedule allowing for multiple school matinees, their is an admirable mission to bring the Bard and these timeless classics to a new audience. And a better introduction would be hard to conceive; when I attended, children as young as five or six were captivated for the entire time. This is a Midsummer not only for those already well versed and passionate about Shakespeare’s works, but for those who have yet to discover the magic of his plays. Indeed, the premise – wherein the action of Midsummer is frequently undercut by the ‘children’ interrupting their own play to make comment on it – allows for a new layer of humour. And while this inevitably creates occasional pacing issues for the arc of Midsummer, and shifts emphasis away from its existing play-within-a-play structure, as a piece of children’s theatre it is genius.

Convincingly playing children before morphing into iconic characters like Titania or Puck, whilst tackling endless multi-roling, is no easy feat! The troupe of six actors are impressive in achieving this whilst offering such a refreshing playfulness. A clear passion for what they are delivering is evident throughout. It is difficult to pick a standout performance; as an ensemble their physicality and timing is flawless, with more than one slight-of-hand to add to the feeling of magic. Dewi Wykes’ Puck leans into this magic with the iconic closing soliloquy – leaving a feeling of enchantment in the air as the piece comes to a close – wide-eyed children believing that maybe they really are witnessing a real-life ‘naughty fairy’. Daisy Ann Fletcher’s Nancy is hilarious as the self-appointed director/writer/lead actress who boldly states that within their play she shall play Hermia, who just so happens to have not one but two of the boys desperately in love with her. Toby Hulse – playwright and director of this adaptation – executed a clear vision: this Midsummer feels completely re-vamped for a children’s audience, whilst managing to keep all of the original ingredients which make such a timeless masterpiece in the first place. His staging is fun, captivating and sprinkled with magic.

Southwark Playhouse’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream allows us to see Shakespeare through the lens of a child – and with everything currently happening in the world, a joyful and optimistic view is gladly welcomed!

A Midsummer Night’s Dream plays until 27^th September at Southwark Playhouse

🎟️ Tickets and information: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/a-midsummer-nights-dream/