Nicholas Hytner’s 2025 revival of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a thrilling, laugh-out-loud reimagining of one of Shakespeare’s most playful works. First staged at the Bridge Theatre in 2019, this new version builds on the original’s strengths with even more humour and inventiveness.
At the heart of the play is a web of interwoven narratives: four young lovers – Hermia (Nina Cassells), Helena (Lily Simpkiss’s professional stage debut), Demetrius (Paul Adeyefa), and Lysander (Divesh Subaskaran) – stumble into a magical forest, where their fates become entangled with feuding fairies and an amateur theatre troupe known as the Mechanicals.
The production immediately pulls you in. A caged Hippolyta (Susannah Fielding), surrounded by a haunting choir, sets a compelling tone. We’re swiftly swept into the forest, where Oberon (JJ Feild) and Titania (also Fielding) reign. For those unfamiliar with Shakespeare, the doubling of roles (Fielding as Hippolyta and Titania, Feild as Theseus and Oberon) may be briefly confusing, but an interval Google search clears things up.
One of Hytner’s best choices is to reverse the dynamic between Oberon and Titania: here, Titania drugs Oberon. This clever twist injects new comedy into the subplot involving Bottom (a hilarious Emmanuel Akwafo), who becomes the object of Oberon’s enchanted affection.
David Moorst’s Puck is a standout. His aerial ropework, performed alongside Fielding, is not only visually striking but seamlessly integrated with the verse. Among the young lovers, Simpkiss is particularly strong as Helena, capturing her emotional chaos with wit. She has great chemistry with the rest of the quartet, especially during the love potion scenes, some of the production’s funniest moments.
Still, it’s the Mechanicals who steal the show. Akwafo’s Bottom is absurdly brilliant, but he’s supported wonderfully by Molly Hewitt-Richards as Snug and Felicity Montagu as Quince. Montagu’s deadpan timing and dry humour elevate every scene. Their dynamic offers a perfect satirical foil to the lovers’ melodrama.
The first half concludes with an unforgettable aerial sequence involving the fairies, one of the funniest and most jaw-dropping moments on stage, blending acrobatics and comedy in a way that leaves the audience in stunned delight.
While the second half is slightly less riotous than the first, it never loses momentum. As the lovers’ enchantments fade and order is restored, we return to Athens for a final burst of hilarity as the Mechanicals perform their play. Modern references pepper their performance, adding an extra layer of humour and relatability.
Hytner ends with a euphoric dance sequence and three giant inflatable moons hurled into the crowd, a cheeky nod to the production’s immersive spirit. Those seated above may feel a twinge of envy as the standing audience dances and mingles with the cast, even getting up close to the ever-dashing JJ Feild.
Bunny Christie’s inventive set design, revolving beds, leafy canopies, trapdoors, fluidly transforms the stage. The standing crowd becomes part of the action, resembling woodland creatures or wedding guests.
In this vibrant, witty reinterpretation, Hytner doesn’t just revive Shakespeare, he reinvents the joy of theatre itself. Visually dazzling, emotionally charged, and genuinely funny, this Midsummer Night’s Dream leaves me in a rare kind of ecstasy – as if I’ve woken from a dream I didn’t want to end.
Comedy
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
By William Shakespeare
Music By Grant Olding
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Cast includes: Paul Adeyefa; Emmanuel Akwafo; Nina Cassells; JJ Feild; Susannah Fielding ; Molly Hewitt-Richards; Felicity Montagu; David Moorst ; Jem Rose; Dominic Semwanga; Lily Simpkiss; Divesh Subaskaran.
Until 20 August 2025
Running Time: 2hrs 40min (including a 20min interval)
Production Photos by Manuel Harlan