Review: A MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE, Keats House

“What fools these mortals be!”

Midsummer Nightmare, created by Midnight Circle Productions and directed by Cecilie Fray, is a Gothic adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is currently touring outdoor spaces in the UK. The particular performance I attended was in the round in the garden of Keats House, which works perfectly as the poet John Keats who lived there was heavily inspired by the Bard. The show begins with a group of goblins deciding which Shakespeare play to put on, seemingly becoming possessed by the words from plays like Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet before deciding on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

It’s an interesting way to introduce the more Gothic aspects of this production to the audience, with the goblins and fairies looking quite imposing with terrifying grins and sharp yet glittery makeup. After some cackling and dancing around in a circle, the actual play begins, with Egeus (Kennedy Jopson) bringing her daughter, Hermia (Niamh Handley-Vaughan), to Theseus (Miles Blanch), demanding that he make Hermia marry her choice of husband, Demetrius (Charlie Macrae-Todd) instead of the man she loves, Lysander (Daniel Pirie). This leads to Hermia and Lysander running away to escape the harsh law of Athens, with Demetrius following close behind, having been informed of their plot by a woman who is in love with him, Helena (Nadia Lamin). 

The world of the mortals soon collides with that of the supernatural, with Oberon (Chloe Orrocks) fighting with his wife, Titania (Kennedy Jopson) over a changeling boy she is taking care of that he wants to raise as his servant. In order to get his way, Oberon decides he will use the magic of a flower to make Titania fall in love with a hideous monster, but he will also use the flower’s power to assist some mortals he believes need help in the realm of love.

The mischievous Puck (a ukulele-wielding Sam Bird) is tasked with making Demetrius fall in love with Helena, but, as one might expect when it comes to a Shakespearean comedy, things do not go to plan, and both Demetrius and Lysander end up being forced to fall in love with Helena, leading to chaos between the four young Athenians.

All of the performers work incredibly well together, whether performing as a ferocious group of mystical beings or fighting one another in the worlds of mortals and fae alike. Lamin is a particular highlight as Helena, with her adoration for Demetrius being played heartbreakingly well and her exasperation at the situation she later finds herself in being played in a way that is both frustrating and amusing for those witnessing it.

Handley-Vaughan and Pirie are a sweet pair as Hermia and Lysander, and it is heartbreaking to watch as Lysander is trapped by the flower’s spell, ignoring his former love in an attempt to win Helena’s love from Demetrius. Jopson is a fierce and enchanting Titania, easily staking her claim as the Queen of the Fairies and facing up to Oberon, a stoic Orrocks, while attempting to fight for the changeling child. 

In general, Midsummer Nightmare makes a few changes to the work of Shakespeare to make it a little more “spooky” than most productions, with the main change being the fairies are referred to in the programme as “goblins” and are portrayed as creepy and antagonistic creatures, crawling through the audience and cackling. I particularly loved seeing how quickly the performers changed from the twisted goblins into the cheery Mechanicals - Bottom (Jed McLoughlin), Snout (Niamh Handley-Vaughan), Snug (Nadia Lamin), Starveling (Daniel Pirie) and Flute (Charlie Macrae-Todd) - arguably the comedic relief of the play.

The usual double casting of Oberon/Theseus and Titania/Hippolyta is changed as well, with Orrock playing both Oberon and Hippolyta, while Jopson plays Titania and Egeus - Blanch takes of the role of Theseus as well as Peter Quince. There are also a few more moments of agency for the women in the play, with a sword fight [Fight Direction by Jack Masefield] taking place between Hermia and Helena as Demetrius and Lysander watch in fear. 

Unfortunately, even with these changes, Midsummer Nightmare does not really earn the title of a nightmare. Some scenes, like Bottom being introduced to Titania’s fairies, are made to feel more like a horror movie, with the poor man cowering in fear, but not much is really added save for some cackling and hissing at the audience from the goblins/fairies. Another is an interpretation of Hermia’s dream about being attacked by a serpent, which has the cast using their hands as snakes and has surprisingly ominous saxophone music in the background.

The most obvious aspect of the play that could be used as a horror movie is pretty much ignored - the fact that (spoiler alert) the love juice is not removed from the eyes of Demetrius, meaning that he is still under the flower’s spell and in love with Helena against his own will. The show also loses the bite it had in the first act in Act Two as the magical creatures make less appearances and things begin to come to a close.

 Midsummer Nightmare is a lovely production of the iconic Shakespeare work with some fantastic performances, but does not really change enough of the work to be considered a “nightmare” instead of a “dream.” Midnight Circle Production have always done good work in tweaking classic works and this play is no exception, but I would have liked to see a little more Gothic horror in this production. 

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