A Midsummer Night's Dream
William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Set in Elizabethan England, Peter Hall's new production sees Titania, the Fairy Queen, as a portrait of the ageing Queen Elizabeth I, fascinated with the theatre, besieged by courtiers but ‘married to the people of England'.
4.2 out of 5 based on 9 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Location |
Kingston |
| Venue |
The Rose Theatre |
| Director |
Peter Hall |
| Cast |
William Chubb, Judi Dench, Msimisi Dlamini, Rachel Stirling Oliver Chris |
| From |
February 2010 |
| Until |
March 2010 |
| Box Office |
0871 230 1552 |
| |
Set in Elizabethan England, Peter Hall's new production sees Titania, the Fairy Queen, as a portrait of the ageing Queen Elizabeth I, fascinated with the theatre, besieged by courtiers but ‘married to the people of England'.
Reviews
The Stage
John Thaxter
"Bringing Dame Judi and Sir Peter together again has brought Kingston’s Rose Theatre an international standing, while Hall’s resulting production, an enchanting celebration of love and theatrical magic, will cast a spell over all those who flock to see it."
16/02/2010
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The Times
Benedict Nightingale
"A production notable, as Hall’s so often are, for its clarity and narrative momentum. It’s also funnier than most Dreams."
16/02/2010
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The Daily Telegraph
Charles Spencer
"This is one of the most lucid and beautifully spoken productions of the Dream I have ever seen, with a lovely autumnal glow about it as the great director and the great actress reunite in a play they first worked on together almost half a century ago in 1962."
16/02/2010
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The Evening Standard
Henry Hitchings
"In the end it’s the comedy that speaks loudest in this enjoyably fluent interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Yet beneath the absurdities and physical frolics, it has a wintry quality that’s genuinely surprising. "
16/02/2010
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The Daily Express
Caroline Jowett
"The highlight is the bewitchment of Titania and Bottom the weaver with his ass’s head. Judi Dench makes you believe she is in love with the creature and Bottom (Oliver Chris) is one of the best interpretations of the role I’ve seen."
16/02/2010
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The Financial Times
Sarah Hemming
"Hall’s staging draws parallels between the court of the Queen of the Fairies and that of the Virgin Queen, between two monarchs who perhaps bestow their affections unwisely. Whether or not this quite stands up scarcely seems to matter: what it gives us is a peerless performance from Dench, a touching emphasis on the ageless folly of love and a precise, humane production, refreshingly delivered in Elizabethan costume."
16/02/2010
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The Guardian
Michael Billington
"My main reservation concerns the mechanicals. Hall might have made more of "these hard-handed men that work in Athens hence" by emphasising their particular crafts and occupations. But there is a very assured Bottom from Oliver Chris who has all the bumptious geniality of the star amateur actor. In short, this is a good, well-spoken Dream, played in Elizabethan dress, that reminds one that this is a play about physical and spiritual transformation."
16/02/2010
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The Independent
Paul Taylor
"Unfolding on the lozenge-shaped open stage of the Rose Theatre at Kingston, Hall's latest production of A Midsummer Night's Dream is exquisitely well judged in its light-footed, lucid, poetically persuasive, wonderfully funny and brilliantly well-spoken way."
16/02/2010
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