A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Bridge Theatre
until 20th August 2025
The Bridge Theatre in London is fast gaining a reputation for providing first class immersive theatre. They have recently had tumultuous success with their production of Guys and Dolls so I was very eager to see Nicholas Hynter’s version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. First staged at The Bridge in 2019, I had thoroughly enjoyed the recording broadcast on TV during the pandemic lockdown and couldn’t wait to experience it first hand.
The production is staged in the round with the audience either seated or standing. I opted to stand, considering both the experience and the cost.
I wasn’t disappointed, visually, the production is beautiful! The team of faeries swing and dance on silks above the heads of the audience, the forest is made up of moving pieces of staging which the cast skillfully navigate. This is particularly so during the lover’s tiff where the actors fight and across various sections of the stage. Occasionally the standing audience are invited to be involved in the movement. It was so much fun.
Based on Shakespeare’s first folio, about 500 of the lines have been reassigned (between Oberon and Titania) and a few ‘modern day’ adlibs have been added. This reimagining meant that gave the love spell sequence a fresh comedic edge which the cast pulled off exquisitely.
The mechanicals always the comedic element of the play delivered their scenes beautifully. Their performance of Pyramus and Thisbe was hilarious with their fumbled lines and misplaced props. Admittedly the biggest laughs of the evening came from the adlibbed moments and references to pop culture, but I honestly think that they enhanced the production and made Shakespeare’s world feel timeless and utterly present.
Ultimately, the immersive experience in this version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was sublime. To feel as though you are involved and to be swept along with the cast was amazing. Even though I knew the play well, I didn’t know where to look and what would happen next. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is all about magic. This was truly theatre magic.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reviewer: Sammi O’Neill
Cast
Oberon/Theseus – JJ Feild
Titania/Hippolyta – Susannah Fielding
Bottom – Emmanuel Akwafo
Puck/Philostrate – David Moorst
Demetrius – Paul Adeyefa
Starveling – Hilson Agbangbe
Peaseblossom – Bella Aubin
Fairy – Jemima Brown
Hermia – Nina Cassells
Moth – Kat Collings
Understudy – Adam Cunis
Cobweb – Ali Goldsmith
Snug – Molly Hewitt-Richards
Quince – Holly Hales (previously Felicity Montagu)
Mustardseed – Lennin Nelson-McClure
Snout – Jem Rose
Flute – Dominic Semwanga
Helena – Lily Simpkiss
Lysander – Divesh Subaskaran