A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Sedgwick Theater

Repertory theatre is a high-wire act, and Quintessence Theatre is once again taking on William Shakespeare to deliver this epic experience for Philadelphia. 12 actors will be performing multiple roles in a rotating schedule of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Antony & Cleopatra in a “Reckless Romance” repertory.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream asks if love is for the foolish. Four Athenian youths reject their parents’ efforts to interfere in their romantic lives and choose to run away instead of facing the love-limiting laws of the land. Lost in the surrounding wilderness, the lovers stumble upon a fairy kingdom in conflict; a spat between the fairy king and queen so great it threatens to alter the earth’s orbit and suspend its seasons. A group of laborers, secretly rehearsing their play for a royal competition, also wander unwittingly into the middle of the fairy battle. Mayhem ensues, and Shakespeare confirms we can all prove an ass when in love.