‘The course of true love never did run smooth,’ remarks Lysander near the start of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the veracity of his statement soon becomes apparent in what is one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies, where magic and mischief unite against the backdrop of a turbulent fairy kingdom as well as six rude mechanicals attempting to stage their own play. Starring Olivier Award winner Michelle Terry as Titania/Hippolyta (described by The Guardian as ‘magnificently imperious’) and an irresistibly funny Pearce Quigley as Bottom, this touching new production by the Globe’s Artistic Director Dominic Dromgoole features ‘consistently inventive’ staging that ‘beautifully captures both the humor and the disconcerting strangeness of the play’ (The Daily Telegraph). Filmed in High Definition and true Surround Sound.

Reviews

"Michelle Terry's Hippolyta/Titania is magnificently imperious...and Pearce Quigley brings a caustic Lancastrian lugubriousness to Bottom, departing in a memorable hissy fit during rehearsals, suitcase in hand." (The Guardian)

"Dominic Dromgoole’s lively affectionate and consistently inventive staging beautifully captures both the humour and the disconcerting strangeness of the play. Matthew Tennyson proves a fascinatingly ethereal Puck...Pearce Quigley’s wonderfully enjoyable Bottom isn’t just the usual vainglorious bumpkin. He suggests a vein of northern melancholy too, and he is also extremely touchy...the greatest pleasure of this production is the rude mechanicals. They make their initial entrance performing a delightfully nifty clog dance and you really feel these are working men who know each other intimately. This a joyously inventive and touching production of The Dream, a work that seems particularly close to Shakespeare’s heart." (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★)

"Matthew Tennyson's Puck is beguilingly fey, while Luke Thompson, as a Lysander beaming with childlike over-enthusiasm, makes a professional debut of some note in this warm, comic production...a warm, comic vision ideally pitched to this performance space. [Dominic Dromgoole's] production bursts with crowd-pleasing gestures..." (The Evening Standard ★★★★)