British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database
A Midsummer Night's Dream (2012): Filter Theatre, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
PRINCIPAL CAST: Mark Benton (Bottom); Jonathan Broadbent (Oberon); John Lightbody (Lysander); Simon Manyonda (Demetrius); Poppy Miller (Titania); Victoria Moseley (Hermia); Ferdy Roberts (Puck); Rhys Rusbatch (Lysander); Rebecca Scroggs (Helena).
The first performance of this production took place on 11 February 2012 at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. It was a co-production of Filter and the Lyric Hammersmith.
"This condensed interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream is joyously unorthodox....An irreverent introduction by Ed Gaughan's Peter Quince sets the tone. He likens the play to The Matrix. As Sean Holmes's production unfolds, this seems apt. It's a feast of simulated reality and hyperactive violence." ~ Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard, 17 February 2012, in Theatre Record 2012, Issue 4
"'I can only apologise for the crushing feeling of disappointment you will be feeling one hour and 42 minutes from now.' [Peter Quince] warns. 'You'll be wishing you had gone to see One Man, Two Guvnors.' In fact for laugh-out-loud jokes and visual stunts this irreverent production - which stuffy Shakespearean purists should avoid like the plague - is almost the equal of Richard Bean's sublime gagfest." ~ Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 18 February 2012, in Theatre Record 2012, Issue 4
"It's often very funny and there are some brilliant ideas. For instance, Puck (Ferdy Roberts), a workmanlike technician who bursts through walls with his big boots (a delightful change from the usual ethereal sprite), manages the duel between Demetrius (Simon Manyonda) and Lysander (John Lightbody) as a video game, manoeuvring them with his controller." ~ Sarah Hemming, Financial Times, 23 February 2012, in Theatre Record 2012, Issue 4
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