The Lyric Hammersmith and Filter announce UK Tour of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

The Lyric Hammersmith and Filter's critically acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream will be touring the UK, opening at the Lyric for two performances only on 13 & 14 April 2018, then Hull Truck Theatre, Theatr Clwyd, Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Exeter Northcott Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, Cast in Doncaster and Cambridge Arts Theatre.

Following the production's hugely successful run at both the Lyric Hammersmith and Royal Exchange Manchester in 2012, the production was then revived in 2016 at the Lyric which then toured to Brisbane Festival and Dublin Theatre Festival. This riotous reinterpretation of one of Shakespeare's best loved plays returns for a seven-week UK tour. Featuring original live music, this classic tale of young lovers and warring fairies is given a unique and irreverent twist.

Created by Filter

Directed by Sean Holmes

Design by Hyemi Shin

Lighting Design by Oliver Fenwick

Sound Design & Original Music by Chris Branch & Tom Haines

Lyric Hammersmith

13 & 14 April 2018 Website: www.lyric.co.uk Box Office: 020 8741 6850

Tour Dates:

Hull Truck Theatre

17 April - 21 April 2018 Website: www.hulltruck.co.uk Box Office: 01482 323638

Theatr Clwyd

24 April - 28 April 2018 Website: www.theatrclwyd.com Box Office: 01352 701521

Nuffield Southampton Theatres

01 May - 05 May 2018

Website: www.nstheatres.co.uk Box Office: 023 8067 1771

Exeter Northcott Theatre

08 May - 12 May 2018

Website: www.exeternorthcott.co.uk Box Office: 01392 726363

Oxford Playhouse

15 May - 19 May 2018

Website: www.oxfordplayhouse.com Box Office: 01865 305305

Cast in Doncaster

22 May - 26 May 2018

Website: www.castindoncaster.com Box Office: 01302 303 959

Cambridge Arts Theatre

05 June - 09 June 2018

Website: www.cambridgeartstheatre.com Box Office: 01223 503333

The Lyric Hammersmith is one of the UK's leading producing theatres. For more than one hundred and twenty years it has been responsible for creating some of the UK's most adventurous and acclaimed theatrical work. It has gained a national reputation for its work with and for children and young people and creates pathways into the arts for young talent from all backgrounds, helping to diversify our industry. Recent productions include our critically acclaimed annual pantomimes, the smash hit Bugsy Malone, the international tour and co-production with Filter of A Midsummer Night's Dream and a new UK production of international phenomenon, Terror.

The Lyric's dual commitment to producing the highest quality contemporary theatre alongside nurturing the creativity of young people is what makes it unique within the cultural ecology of the UK. It is a local theatre rooted in its community with a national and international reputation for the quality and innovation of its artistic work.

Filter originated as a contemporary deviser of new pieces. Faster premiered at the Battersea Arts Centre in 2003, playing The Soho Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, touring the UK, Germany and New York. Waiter, directed by David Farr for the Lyric Hammersmith in 2007, was revived for the Tricycle, the Sydney Theatre Company and New York's Next Wave Festival, BAM. Silence, commissioned and produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, premiered in May 2011 at Hampstead Theatre.

Filter has produced several interpretations of classic texts: Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle for the National Theatre (2006); Shakespeare's Twelfth Night for the RSC and The Tricycle Theatre (2007); Chekhov's Three Sisters for the Lyric Hammersmith (2010); and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for a UK Tour and Lyric Hammersmith/Manchester Royal Exchange (2012). Each project aspired to pin-point the very heart of the plays by uncovering the light and darkness of the language and the lyricism of the text.

In 2015 & 2016 Filter's production of Twelfth Night undertook a 21 week tour of India, USA and UK. Our co-production of A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Lyric Hammersmith was seen in Brisbane and Dublin, and Twelfth Night returned to the USA in March 2017 for performances in Los Angeles and Berkeley.

There are many new works in the pipeline for Filter. Among them are The Western Project for the stage, directed by Michael Boyd and written by David Greig. All Filter's work tours the UK, Europe and beyond, reaching a wide and diverse audience, young and old.