Noel Coward Theatre
St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4AU
Starring: Sheridan Smith as Titania, David Walliams as Bottom
“The course of true love never did run smooth”
This year the Michael Grandage Company have brought us a ‘Season of five plays’. This consists of five plays at the Noel Coward theatre with over 100,000 tickets being just £10. Two of which I was lucky enough to grab!
A Midsummer Nights dream is the fourth in the five plays, and has a huge example to follow as before it came; Privates on Parade, Peter and Alice and The Cripple of Inishmaan. The plays have attracted a whole new batch of theatre goers with stars such as Daniel Radcliffe, Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw.
Williams Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Dream, is one of the less known of the famous Shakespeare plays, but not for long, as two of the nation’s favourite TV heroes have come together to make the play into a witty yet classy adaptation.
The play focuses on couples and forbidden partnerships in the ‘real’ world of Athena. Then during the hours of darkness this real world switches to a magical land of fairies with Sheridan Smith as their queen.
In the real world Lysander loves Hermia, Hermia loves Lysander (which of course Hermia’s father disapproves of). Helena loves Demetrius, Demetrius used to love Helena but has now taken a fancy to Hermia.
While in fairy world the King and Queen are at loggerheads. Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the Fairies, are having troubles of their own.
With human and magical worlds colliding it can only mean trouble for the two lands and a whole spout of chaos breaks out.
Directors and producers of the play had clearly not scrimped on costume design as each costume had its own burst of magic and was able to transport you to what it would have been like to watch during Shakespearean times.
David Walliams is hilarious as Bottom, his usual infectious comedy spread across the whole theatre and had everyone laughing into floods of tears.
This adaptation is a great way to get young children into the reading of classics, as these stars will encourage them to engage in the mystical depths of A Midsummer Nights Dream.
An enchanting performance from all parts. Me and my friend particularly enjoyed the amount of topless men that graced the stage, all may I add had fine structure.
This little gem is only showing until the 16 of November; but don’t despair. If you are anything like me and a tiny bit disorganised then you can buy tickets on the day of performance from the box office at 10:30am. Most of the tickets are at £10 but are on a first come first served basis. (I’d get there for 10:00am just to get a place in the que).
An absolute must see for fans of quality theatre and those just wanting a night out on the town!