Rosie Davies, Director of A Midsummer Night’s Dream shares the inspiration for this years 1920’s Art Deco version of the Shakespearian classic that is the Bradifeld 175 Summer Play;

‘As, arguably, one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is, on its surface, a tangled web of love, fairies and mistaken identity… Re-reading the play to centre on a theme was a delight and I worked my way through many iterations before realising that I kept coming back to the 1920s.

It ticked all the boxes, including explaining the Victorian mindset of a woman being her father’s property. Given the beautiful setting of Bradfield, and the stunning grounds that our Head Gardener, Simon Myhill and his team work endlessly on, it was easy to transport the original setting of Ancient Athens to the English country gardens of the 1920s.  The lovers became bat and racquet players in my head – Hermia and Lysander are tennis players, Helena is a female golfer and Demetrius favours cricket. 

The Rude Mechanicals have also been given a 1920s makeover, in careers as well as era.  The pupil playing Bottom had a very distinct idea on how he wanted to play the role, so I gave him (relative) freedom on how he has interpreted his character.  The rest of the Mechanicals have been elevated somewhat from the working class ‘workmen’ they are painted as, to more middle-class professionals…The fairies I saw as a challenge and the more I researched them, the more sinister I found them.  My mind kept flitting to the Mafia, and movies like ‘Bugsy Malone’, ‘Mobland’ or ‘The Gentlemen’.'

Join us to watch this 175 Summer Play to remember

Performance times:

Saturday 21 June 5pm
Sunday 22 June 8pm
Monday 23 June 3pm & 8pm
Tuesday 24 June 8pm

Book your tickets HERE