Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
PUBLISHED October 19th, 2014 04:00 pm | UPDATED January 20th, 2016 02:10 pm
Fans of Shakespeare – rejoice! The prestigious London theatre company Shakespeare’s Globe, which made its debut here last year with the Taming of the Shrew, will be returning in November with one of our favourite Shakespearean comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream for a limited 4-night run. Starting from 13 November, Singapore’s audiences will be treated to Renaissance costumes, Elizabethan-style staging, music, and dance.
We have the people at ABA Productions to thank for bringing Globe Theatre to Singapore to mark the 450th anniversary of The Bard’s birth (which fell in April 1564). And their stop in Singapore is part of the Globe’s largest Asia tour yet, which takes the production to Russia, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taipei and Kaohsiung. Helming the production is The Globe’s Artistic Director, Dominic Dromgoole, who is also responsible for a slew of Shakespearean classics including ‘King Lear’, ‘Romeo And Juliet’ and ‘Hamlet’.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream remains a favourite with audiences around the world, and no wonder, when you consider that Shakespeare put some of his most dazzling dramatic poetry into this hilarious play out of the 38 plays, 154 sonnets and several poems he’s written. Written in 1595 and performed (most likely) for Queen Elizabeth I, the Bard still reigns supreme after 450 years due to his ability to write about the human condition. Love, hate, wars, politics, fate, separation and reconciliation – they’re themes we can all relate to and identify with.
‘The course of true love never did run smooth’ – these words sum up A Midsummer Night’s Dream aptly. It’s a triangle of unrequited love and marital expectations – Hermia loves Lysander and Helena loves Demetrius – but Demetrius is supposed to be marrying Hermia. When the Duke of Athens tries to enforce the marriage, the lovers take refuge in the woods and wander into the midst of a dispute between the king (Oberon) and queen (Titania) of the fairies.
The play is a combination of three sub-plots: the Athenian lovers Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius, Titania and Oberon’s rivalry, and the commoners’ (or rude mechanicals as they are sometimes called) production of Pyramus and Thisbe. The common thread? The ridiculous behavior of lovers of every sort, every creature, and every class – love is shown as an irrational passion, which makes lovers the slaves of whim and fancy.
So if you haven’t already done so already, beg, borrow or steal and get yourself tickets to watch what promises to be a truly magnificent production.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is running at Esplanade Theatre from 13 to 16 November 2014. For tickets, please visit SISTIC.
