A Midsummer Night's Dream

This show has now closed, click here for a listing of current and future London shows

Comedy closed 21 April 2007

The Roundhouse Chalk Farm Road, Camden, London

"Stunningly beautiful, sexy, and delightfully funny" The Independent

Mythic warriors, lovers, artisans and spirits are conjured up in an exhilarating mix of fierce poety and the madness of love in A Midsummer Night's Dream - Dash Arts' Indian Dream promises to be a theatrical event like no other - an incredible spectacle combining the astonishing skills of actors, dancers, martial arts experts, musicians and street acrobats from across India and Sri Lanka.

"Sensational - this Dream is a triumph" The Guardian

Following a sensational sell-out run at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Complete Works Festival at Stratford in June 2006, Dash Arts' Indian themed production of William Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream comes to The Roundhouse in London for a strictly limited six week run.

A cast of 23 dancers, musicians, actors and performers from a hugely diverse range of locations and backgrounds perform in this production which is performed in English, Tamil, Malaysian, Sinhalese, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi and even a little Sanskrit. The result is a passionate, energetic, thrilling and beautiful re-interpretation of the play, which casts aside familiar traditions of performing Shakespeare and replaces them with an epic, visceral and emotional power that has already played to critical acclaim in outdoor arenas in India and in Stratford upon Avon (where it played just 12 performances in the Swan Theatre) and at the Verona Festival earlier this year.

Created in India with Indian and Sri Lankan performers and creative team this production which is directed by Tim Supple has already been marked out as a seminal staging of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The production is the culmination of a project that began in autumn 2004 when the British Council in India and Sri Lanka commissioned Tim Supple to create and direct a theatre production to tour.

"The most magical, fantasical Dream that will be remembered for decades" The Daily Telegraph

"Electrifying... this A Midsummer Night's Dream is performed by a troupe of beautifully vibrant, warmly funny actors from India and Sri Lanka who move seamlessly between naturalistic acting and stylised dance, speaking in a fluid mix of English, Hindi, Malayalam and other languages. Magically, you understand everything and sometimes the switch into an unfamiliar tongue works like a charm, as if the speaker has started weaving a spell or, more comically, has been driven into an incomprehensible rage... Not to be missed." The Independent on Sunday

"Ravishing and enchanting, Tim Supple's all-Indian production is a Dream as you've never seen it"
The Daily Mail

"A ravishing and enchanting new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream... is a Dream as you've never seen it, or heard it. More than half is spoken in six Asian languages, the rest in English. Amazingly, after a while you scarcely notice, for this remarkable bank of actors, specially when speaking Hindi, Tamil, Malayan and so on, do so with so much emotional and physical expression that I felt I understood.. An unforgettable dream of a Dream." The Mail on Sunday

"It's Shakespeare brilliantly reimagined: theatre to lose your heart to" The Times

"Tim Supple's magical, brightly coloured Indian production of A Midsummer Night's Dream... The actors - some dancers, musicians and gymnasts, too - carry the action with such energy that you absolutely get what they are saying whether in Tamil or Sinhalese... This is a raunchy, funny production with some sublime singing and dancing which, in the last act, brought a lump to my throat." The Sunday Telegraph

This London run at The Roundhouse Theatre marks the beginning of a long international journey for the performers (the original cast has been brought back together). Following this six week season at the Roundhouse Theatre, the company will embark on a major UK-wide tour following which the company will once again return to India for several weeks, touring major cities, before embarking on a worldwide tour.