A Midsummer Night's Dream

This is 21st century theatre at its best. This wonderful and outstanding production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is undoubtedly a creative success on every level. The show is spectacle at its purest, deftly combining different arts in profoundly original and previously unthinkable ways, and yet in so doing, it loses nothing of the vivacity of Shakespeare's text. This fun and lively adaptation sucks you in and I can only feel jealous of those lucky enough to have watched it in situ. Thanks to great improvisations by all cast members, a fantastic use of the theatrical space, well-choreographed scenes and a pretty killer soundtrack this hilarious, complex and greatly entertaining mise en scène is a joy to watch. Puck was absolutely fantastic, charismatic and fun to watch. Watching it in early July 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic is the real midsummer night's dream. Truly magical! One of NTL's greatest shows.

Grade: 9.5 / 10

Absolutely adore 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', ever since primary school when studying it and reading it the text out loud when playing a character (loved that way of learning, not everyone did). Love the colourful characters, the magic, the playfulness, the hilarious comedy and at times pathos. The story may seem complicated on first glance, with a lot going on, but actually 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is one of Shakespeare's most accessible plays, and it is one of my favourites of his and adore the amazing text and how he uses it.

On the most part, with only a few exceptions (2015's 'Hamlet', which actually wasn't too bad, 2019's 'The Tragedy of King Richard II' and especially 2018's 'Macbeth'), the Shakespeare productions from the National Theatre Live series range between good to amazing. With a cast this talented and having liked a good deal of Nicholas Hytner's previous work, expectations were extremely high watching this production with no doubts actually that it would be good. It turned out to be an absolute dream of a production and really made my week when watching, as far as the series' Shakespeare productions go this 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is among the best. One of the best productions personally seen too of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and one of the most unique.

Visually, the production looks amazing. Even if not the most traditional of Shakespeare productions, it still managed to be one of the most dreamily imaginative looking as well as one of the best and most interesting. The sets really bring the enchanting atmosphere to life, full of rich colour, very atmospheric lighting and incredible attention to detail. Adding to the magic are the use of the likes of rolling smoke and aerial acrobatics, very inventively done and don't come over as gimmicky or overblown. While the scene changes and transitions are seamless and helps with making the viewer feel like they've been transported to another world.

Found myself pleasantly surprised by the soundtrack. Was worried that the contemporary sections of the music would be out of place and be at odds with everything else, but actually it helped give the production its energetic groove, while other parts are hypnotic and mysterious which helps bring the atmosphere to life. When it comes to the stage direction, this is one of the most entertaining, most refreshing and most compelling productions of the play and for anything, the humour is playful and extremely funny, any tension excites and any additional touches and differences are actually tasteful and bring a new angle without becoming incoherent. With the amount of energy it has too the length flies by without being dizzying. The production also does very well at making the play accessible and doesn't make things more complicated than needed.

The performances also contribute heavily to the production's enjoyment factor. All four lovers have strong comic timing and vulnerability, any frustrations relatable. Tessa Bonham Jones' Helena is particularly good. Gwendoline Christie is a regal and enchanting Titania, looking beautiful too, with plenty of wit. There has seldom from my experience been a funnier Oberon than Oliver Chris, while David Moorst is a deliciously naughty and remarkably physical (one of the most physical interpretations of the role) Puck. Stealing every scene he's in is Hammed Animashaun's both hilarious and adorable Bottom.

In summary, brilliant. 10/10

This is 21st century theatre at its best. This wonderful and outstanding production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is undoubtedly a creative success on every level. The show is spectacle at its purest, deftly combining different arts in profoundly original and previously unthinkable ways, and yet in so doing, it loses nothing of the vivacity of Shakespeare's text. This fun and lively adaptation sucks you in and I can only feel jealous of those lucky enough to have watched it in situ. Thanks to great improvisations by all cast members, a fantastic use of the theatrical space and a pretty killer soundtrack this hilarious, complex and greatly entertaining mise en scène is a joy to watch. Watching it in early July 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic is the true midsummer night's dream. One of NTL's greatest shows.

Right now there are 7 user reviews of this film and every single one of them is either a 10 or a 1 rating. Neither score is deserved.

Overall, this is a very good filmed play. The approach is unusual, adding some songs and acrobatics in the mix, as well as some cross-gender bits, all of which works well within the magical framework.

The most notable performances, for me, are Isis Hainsworth and Tessa Bonham Jones as Hermia and Helena. The women is other versions I've seen have seemed rather weak-willed and vapid, but here they are smart and personable. Jones Helena is especially remarkable, in that she seems driven less by desperate, pathetic love than by an internal fury that makes her declamations of love and subservience come out like bullets. The best scene is the one in which the criss-crossed lovers fight and woo; it's wonderfully funny and wild.

The other great scene is the final play-within-a play, with Hammed Animashaun grabbing the showy role of Bottom with both hands and full joy. This little play was the great disappointment of Julie Taymor's version of MND, which she made weirdly serious and sad. Here it's down as it should be; as a proto-Mystery Science Theater 3000.

The rest of the performances are fine, but less notable than the standouts. The acrobatics are fun, although one scene of Bottom and Oberon on a bed is remarkably badly filmed, in that it focusses on the bed, which is repetitive and uninteresting, while ignoring most of the silks action on the ceiling. The only excuse to that is their main camera stopped working for that five minutes and they had to make do, otherwise it's just incompetence.

This looks like it would have been great fun to see live, but even filmed it's quite entertaining once you get past the inevitably tedious set-up scenes.

This acting is just too bad, I had to wear sunglasses to bare the damage.