Cast Revealed For A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Opera Holland Park

Performances run Thursday 29 June – Saturday 1 July 2023.

By: Jun. 02, 2023
Cast Revealed For A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Opera Holland Park

This summer, acclaimed historical performance ensemble Figure return to London’s Opera Holland Park after the success of their fantastically detailed (The Guardian) 2022 performance of Handel’s Serse with a fresh staging of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Unbridled desire meets magic as Figure stages Shakespeare’s celebrated comedy, accompanied by Mendelssohn’s enchanting orchestral score. 

Mischief-maker Puck will be played by T. S. Eliot Prize-winning poet and performer Joelle Taylor (BLUE NOW, Tate; UK Slam poetry champion), and Bottom will be played by Jay Mailer (Boiling Point, BBC; Emmerdale, ITV). Playing the role of fairy queen of the forest Titania is comedian and actress Anna Leong Brophy (Shadow and Bone, Netflix; Last Tango in Halifax, BBC; Henry VI Part 1, RSC), and her king Oberon will be played by acclaimed British TV and movie actor Ray Fearon (Fleabag, BBC Three; Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts, Warner Bros; Beauty and the Beast, Walt Disney Studios; Macbeth, National Theatre Live), who is an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Figure’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream will star Eleanor Sutton (Wuthering Heights, Wise Children UK/US Tour; Amadeus, National Theatre) as Helena, Hannah Rose Caton (The Da Vinci Code, UK Tour; Last Knights, Lionsgate) as Hermia, Johan Munir (Into the Woods, Theatre Royal Bath; Saving Grace, Riverside Studios) as Demetrius, and Emmanuel Olusanya (Phaedra, National Theatre) completes the set of lovers as Lysander. 

The marvellous Mechanicals will be played by the following: Gail Sixsmith (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, RSC; The Winter’s Tale, RSC) as Quince, Jordan Laviniere (Wuthering Heights, Wise Children; Everyone’s Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre) as Flute, Susie Coutts (Running Wild, Chichester Festival Theatre) as Snout, William Edden (Oliver, UK Tour; Les Misérables, Queens Theatre) as Snug, and Joyce Henderson (The Street of Crocodiles, Complicité; The Magic Flute, Complicité) rounding off the cast as Starveling. 


Director Samuel Rayner comments, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is arguably Shakespeare’s most loved comedy but – like a fairy tale from The Brothers Grimm – the aspects of the play that seem sweet and gentle conceal the diabolical perversity at its heart. Beneath the japes, Dream explores patriarchal power and violence, restrictions on sexual freedom, and frequently questions our perception of reality.

The Athenian court is a world of rigidity but, in the woods, characters are liberated from the court’s rule; it is a space where desire reigns, where conscious and unconscious experience is probed and laid bare, and where the imagination (and the mechanicals’ creativity) – which is so closely aligned with magic and love – abounds.

Our production’s fairy-tale aesthetic seeks to pose questions about our perception of reality.
By using an interactive and malleable set design, where we repeatedly create and reimagine the space, we allow the surreal and the real to move side by side. The design also incorporates a 19th-century aesthetic, in sympathy with Felix Mendelssohn’s Romantic incidental music, which both accompanies and drives the drama in this production as we reunite this towering music with Shakespeare’s much-loved play.




RELATED STORIES - UK / West End

1
Darren Criss Adds Extra Show at The London Palladium in October Photo
Darren Criss Adds Extra Show at The London Palladium in October

Don't miss Darren Criss's West End debut at the London Palladium on October 15th. An extra 2.30pm show has been added due to overwhelming demand. Join Emmy Award-Winner Darren Criss and special guests for a night of unforgettable performances. Tickets on sale now.

2
Sasha Ellen Plays Pleasance Best Of Edinburgh Season in November Photo
Sasha Ellen Plays Pleasance 'Best Of Edinburgh' Season in November

After an acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe run, Sasha Ellen (nominee for Best New Show at Leicester Comedy Festival, Bafta Rocliffe finalist) plays Pleasance London's 'Best of Edinburgh' season on Monday 6th November with When Life Gives You Ellens, Make Ellenade. Learn more about the show here!

3
THE BOY Premieres at Soho Theatre Next Month Photo
THE BOY Premieres at Soho Theatre Next Month

The World Premiere of THE BOY comes to Soho Theatre, 17th October – 4th November 2023. Learn more about the play and find out how to get tickets here!

4
Review: CLOSE UP - THE TWIGGY MUSICAL, Menier Chocolate Factory Photo
Review: CLOSE UP - THE TWIGGY MUSICAL, Menier Chocolate Factory

Written and directed by Ben Elton, Close Up: The Twiggy Musical is fast paced jukebox biopic of the iconic Twiggy is a moving but entirely relatable story; although she is an international superstar, her life portrayed within this show highlights some of the more personal moments.

More Hot Stories For You

Videos


TICKET CENTRAL

Recommended For You