York Stage take on Shakespeare…like you’ve never seen it before!
Shakespeare meets shell suits in a riotous reimagining that’s bold, bawdy, and a little bit bonkers.
When most picture A Midsummer Night’s Dream, they might conjure moonlit glades and fairies delicately flitting through a woodland haze. York Stage, however, reassembled the classic with luminous hi-vis’, gold chains, and a nostalgic thump of club anthems echoing down the alleyways of a Yorkshire estate.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is at the Grand Opera House York from Tuesday 6 to Sunday 11 May.
Director Nik Briggs has crafted a production that’s as audacious as it is inventive, transplanting Shakespeare’s tangled tale of love, lunacy, and illusion to a Yorkshire council estate, full of high fences but even higher attitudes. Briggs speaks openly about his desire to fuse together both Shakespeare and classic British working class dramas such as Brassic or Shameless – and crucially, it does work.
From the off, the tone is rebellious. We’re no longer in Athens but ‘Athens Court’, where broken street lights cast shadows over battlegrounds and teenagers fight for love with as much attitude as affection. It’s a setting that invites chaos, and the company rises to the challenge with an abundance of energy.
Mark Holgate (Atonement, Cuffs, and Bodyguard), leads the charge as our Oberon with brooding dominance, his sparring with James Robert Ball’s agile Puck is a delight – Ball hopped, skipped and flew around the stage with ease, leaving us questioning if he’s had three-too-many energy drinks. The pair conjure theatrical electricity as instigators of much of the mischief.
Suzy Cooper returns to the Grand Opera House stage, swapping her usual panto pandemonium for her commandingly elegant Titania. Cooper had her shiny fairy flock following her every move, no matter how unexpected, even with an impressive yet hazardous costume. She continues to show her mastery of character duality, transitioning between roles of Titania and Hippolyta with ease.
May Tether, a familiar face to York Stage audiences, brings her signature vocal prowess as the show’s musical anchor. From the euphoric pulse of Gala Rizzatto’s ‘Freed from Desire’ to a haunting rework from Sam Johnson of ‘Everytime We Touch’, her performance created a battlecry for each twist in the tale. Under the musical direction of Stephen Hackshaw, the band evoked a nostalgic nightclub haze that adds another layer of texture to this already genre-blurring production.
Our quartet of young lovers are brilliantly casted. Meg Olssen’s Hermia is a firecracker – sharp, emotive, and full of precise and well selected choices. Will Parsons impresses audiences, unafraid to bear all (literally), with finely tuned comic instincts. Amy Domeneghetti imbues Helena with all the wounded pride of a teenage girl scorned, while Sam Roberts’ Demetrius struts with an assertively cocky bravado, often with Domeneghetti desperately following behind. Together, they generate a frenetic energy that captures the heightened hormones of first love and heartbreak.
Visually, the show is nothing short of inventive. The design never overwhelmed the performers and each item is perfectly selected and utilised for effect not just for cause. Star-strewn backdrops melt into concrete realism; industrial bins and lonely park benches double as sites of enchantment. And Adam Moore’s lighting design only helps to heighten the magic, while Phoebe Kilvington conjures up too many big and bold wigs to keep count. Each detail and direction felt intentional, even amongst the welcome chaos.
But it is perhaps the mechanicals who bring a show unlike any other. Reimagined as a ragtag bunch assembled for Community Payback, some characters could have been easily plucked from the working class dramas in which Briggs previously referenced. Rosy Rowley’s Flute, forever clutching her plastic bags and eager to please, is a comic gem; Joanne Theaker’s frazzled Quince walks a tightrope between despair and determination; while Ian Giles’ Nick Bottom is gloriously, unapologetically absurd, unafraid to make an ass of himself!
It’s refreshing to see such an offering from York Stage, who are known for their family-friendly and popular musicals selections. Whilst I believe this is the perfect educational study for older youth, it is decidedly not for children (Snout and his stones – need I say more). Theatre must evolve to survive, and this dream is a vibrant argument for its continued reinvention.
Yes, some traditionalists may find the concept jarring. But for those willing to surrender to the madness, there are many rewards ready to reap. It is wild, weird, and wickedly fun.
Midsummer madness? Absolutely. But miss it, and you’ll be dreaming of what could have been.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is at the Grand Opera House York until Sunday 11 May. Tickets start from £18.43 and are available online here.