A Midsummer Night's Dream is easily one of Shakespeare's best known and most loved plays, with the story of four lovers romantically entangled in a magical forest filled with fairies continuing to delight all ages hundreds of years after it was first written.
This summer, Melbourne Shakespeare Company is taking A Midsummer Night's Dream and giving it a queer affirmative, pop musical makeover. While the story remains the same, MSC's production of the beloved play features original arrangements from musical director Natalie Calia, who has reworked pop songs from the likes of Kylie Minogue, Missy Higgins and Oasis into the production.
The cast features Benoit Vari as Demetrius, Anna Francesca Armenia (The Colour Purple) as Hermia, Bridget Sweeney as Helena, Briana Esmé McGeary as Lysander, Jackson McGovern as Bottom, Annabelle Tudor (Puffs) as Titania, Johnathan Peck as Oberon and Sebastian Li (New Gold Mountain) as Puck. Nicola Bowman is directing, with the production intentionally adding a queer interpretation to the famous lover quadrangle between Demetrius, Hermia, Lysander and Helena.
This is a "picnic theatre" setup, meaning guests are welcome to bring anything they might bring to a picnic like food and drink, picnic rugs and lowrise picnic chairs. You can bring regular sized picnic chairs, but you'll need to sit at the back of the audience to not impede anyone's view.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is on every weekend in Malvern's Central Park from February 26 to March 13. Tickets are available now.