About the Show

Lovers flee, fairies feud, and a dream blurs into nightmare by candlelit winter forest.

Step into the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse this winter for a bold new take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In a world gripped by oppressive laws, four young lovers escape to an enchanted forest—only to find themselves caught in the chaos of a bitter feud between the Fairy King and Queen. As snow falls and illusions blur reality, mischief, magic, and manipulation threaten to turn dreams into nightmares. Following their acclaimed Henry V, Shakespeare’s Globe and Headlong reunite—joined by Bristol Old Vic and Leeds Playhouse—for a dark, dazzling reimagining of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays.

Critic Reviews (4)

" Not everything in this production gels but it does lead to a genuinely shocking denouement. It isn’t easy to make amends and request the hand of friendship under such circumstances."
Read more

"If you let go of the idea of traditional enchantment, it’s a compelling piece of theatre."
Read more

"It’s an odd ending, a violent shock, suggesting that maybe we were better off in the fairy world of spells and donkey heads rather than the one of capricious tyrants."
Read more

"For those who are looking for something dark and bitter to offset the season’s relentless feelgood tones, this is a sharply beguiling production, full of wit and vigour"
Read more