A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Leeds Playhouse

Writer: William Shakespeare

Director: Holly Race Roughan

Co-Director: Naeem Hayet

At the end of the Press Performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Leeds Playhouse, a considerable section of the audience erupted into enthusiastic acclaim while an equal number – including your reviewer – just politely acknowledged the talent and energy of the cast. This summed up Headlong and the Globe’s production – the equivalent of theatrical Marmite.

On reflection some of the more bizarre details of this faintly gruesome production make more sense. For instance, who would bring snow into a play set in mid-summer? Well, Titania confronts Oberon over their quarrel about the Indian boy with the accusation that “the seasons alter”. There again, Puck’s interfering in the affairs of Man is well justified by the text: even if he doesn’t take the role of Wall in the original, it is certainly within his power to do so.

Perhaps knowledge of Shakespeare’s original does one a disservice in appreciating Holly Race Roughan’s subversive take on the play. Shakespeare wrote of three distinct groups of characters: the court (including the lovers), fairies and allied spirits and the Rude Mechanicals who cobble together a play for Theseus’ wedding celebrations. In this production the Rude Mechanicals disappear as a group, Bottom being subsumed into the royal household as “executive chef” and the six of them never appearing as a group, depriving us of much innocent fun.

The play proceeds at a rattling pace, clocking in at just over two hours and with major cuts offset by occasional modern pop songs. A dignified Palladian frontage (courtesy of Max Johns) occupies the back of the stage, with tables or piano (useful for sleeping on) added as required. Nicola T. Chang’s sound design administers a series of shocks throughout the evening.

The lovers perhaps benefit most from the hectic cruelty of much of the production, Tiwe Lade, Tara Tijani, Lou Jackson and David Olaniregun quarrelling, chasing and insulting each other with terrific pace and intensity, even if the odd line gets lost in the overlapping frenzy. Bottom, too, as almost the only character permitted to underplay, projects a droll certainty of his ability to do anything in Danny Kirrane’s winning performance.

Puck, in dress coat and tutu, begins the play sitting on a table eating a banana and Sergo Vares, white face and all, is spookily unearthly throughout – the fairies, attired as black ballerinas, are similarly not of this world. The real problem comes with the conception of Theseus/Oberon and Hippolyta/Titania. Michael Marcus and Hedydd Dylan are full of the glamour of danger as the fairy couple, but appear as gross caricatures of privilege as the royal pair, she hopelessly drunk. he starting the play by jumping on the table and kicking or hurling all its contents onto the floor. His actions at the end (no spoilers) are simply ridiculous. Certainly the production emphasises the cruelty of the royal party to the Mechanicals, but loses a sense of proportion.

A very loud, inventive production that uses Shakespeare as a starting point (and often finishes at some distance from his text) contains one gem of an unnamed performance, the sign interpreter whose movements and mime reflect the action perfectly and wittily.

Runs until 28th February 2026, before continuing on tour