Theatre / Shakespeare
A radical retelling of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ comes to Bristol Old Vic
Currently touring UK theatres until the spring, a radical retelling of Shakespeare’s beloved play A Midsummer Night’s Dream will arrive at Bristol Old Vic on March 4.
It’s a co-production led by Headlong and Shakespeare’s Globe – who last collaborated on the critically lauded adaptation of Henry V in 2022.
Now celebrating half a century of theatre-making, Headlong are characterised for making work “that questions of the world we live in”, enabling audiences to “come and see something in a new way”.
This show transposes Shakespeare’s Athenian midsummer setting to a wintery, snow-covered forest, a place imbued with love and magic – with prophetic echoes of political upheaval that lend it a contemporary resonance.
Its associate director, Naeem Hayat joined Bristol24/7 to discuss how these fresh takes on a classic text began to emerge, and the power of retelling stories.
Associate director Naheem Hayat watching rehearsals for A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe
What is your own relationship with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and how has it changed in working on this production?
“The relationship to the play has definitely changed and developed over the time spent working on it. It is a play that is so well known and loved, so our relationship to it had to remain curious, continually reimagining what a new version could be.
“We all carry an idea of the play in our minds, so we treated it as if it were new, in order to rediscover what it might become.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, The Globe – photo: Helen Murray
How did this radical reimagining of the play first begin to take shape, firstly on the page, and then into the rehearsal room?
“It was a slow process, beginning with multiple readings of the play and then discussions around the themes and ideas we wanted to tease out.
“It became clear that the most disturbing and compelling aspects of the story lie in the psychological relationships between characters and the nature of power within the play. This became the thread we followed to build a show that holds both beauty and darkness.”
What would you say is the tone of this play – is it still best described as a comedy, or has it transcended into something else?
“We would say the tone of the play is darkly comic. It contains moments of real tenderness alongside moments of ugliness, and it still retains the natural humour that Shakespeare was a master of writing.”
Hedydd Dylan and Danny Kirrane
For the audience, what is it that contemporary reinterpretations of Shakespeare can offer?
“What audiences gain from contemporary interpretations of the plays is a strong sense of how alive Shakespeare was as a writer. His anxieties, fears, and loves mirror our own.
“He wrote people and relationships better than most, and by reimagining his stories we keep them connected to the world of now, which can be a thrilling experience for audiences.”
Michael Marcus
To what extent have you been surprised by responses to this production?
“Audience responses have been very exciting. It is always daunting to reimagine such a beloved story, but the reaction to the show has encouraged us to trust the audience’s intelligence and their appetite for fresh ways of telling these stories.”
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream is at Bristol Old Vic on March 4-21 at 7.30pm, with additional 2.30pm matinee shows on Thursday and Saturday (no shows Sunday). Tickets are available at bristololdvic.org.uk.
All photos: Helen Murray
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