A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Globe theatre arrives with a blast of high energy and a mix of theatrical prose and modern slang. Shakespeare would be bewildered to see that his most popular playful enchanting comedy has been remastered to enhance the silliness and magic of complex human relations ships.
The synopsis; the play is set in a forest outside Athens, where the worlds of fairies and mortals collide. It weaves together four main storylines: The lovers Hermia and Lysander, and Helena’s Love for Demetrius a ‘cat and mouse’ affair as each pair fall under the spell of the forest royalty. In the forest we encounter Oberon the Fairy King and Titania his queen involved in an argument. To trick Titania Oberon with the use of a ‘spell’ a magic flower he makes her fall in love with an ‘Ass’ Donkey. Interjected within this play is another subplot led by a group of Athenian players who are preparing their play Pyramus and Thisbe for the Dukes wedding. This funny and overdramatic production provides a contrast with the more serious themes of love and tragedy. Theseus the Duke of Athens and Hippolyta Queen of the Amazons are preparing for their wedding, and it is this, ‘the marriage’ which gels the storylines together and sets the scene for a story filled with illusion, magic and mayhem.
As reality merges into fantasy the characters undergo transformation, both physical and emotional switching from the real to the imagined. As the title suggests A Midsummer Night’s Dream sees the characters drift in and out of consciousness, in a dream like state. Just like most of Shakespeare’s plays love features heavily and not too far away from a deep sense of meaning; and yet this play is filled with farcical slapstick humour.
There are great performances from all the cast. Puck Michael Grady–Hall a key character, the naughty narrator and Bottom Adrian Richards provide the funny with laugh out loud nuggets of entertainment. This Shakespearean play has layers of complexity and if audiences are not familiar with the characters or plot lines then confusion throughout could ensue. The costumes complimented the actors and in some scenes was synonymous with panto. The choreography and music were uplifting and well performed. It lacked light and shade with some of the more touching elements overshadowed by the mayhem! There were moments when the actors’ voices were lost and the dialogue could not be heard at all which was a real shame and frustrating.
The Globe theatre can be challenging as there are no microphones and there is a 100% reliance on full coherent projection of the voice and sadly this was lacking quite a lot.
The lighting was perfect and on a warm spring evening the ambience and audience participation on and off the stage was contagious. Fabulous engagement and interaction from all the cast. This play had everything fun, energy and a passion for performance, the audience loved it. If you are not familiar with A Midsummers Night’s Dream don’t let this deter you from an evening of pure joy.
Director Emily Lim
Assistant Director Amber Medway
Costume Design Concept Fly Davis
Choreographer and Movement Director James Cousins
This play commences at 7.30pm 2hrs 30 minutes duration with a 20-minute Interval
Run 23rd April – 29th August 2026
Booking Link https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/a-midsummer-nights-dream/
Reviewer: Michelle Knight
Reviewed: 30th April 2026
North West End UK Rating: