A MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE!

Keats House

★★★★

“a richly atmospheric experience that is at times unsettling, at times hilarious, and always captivating”

A Midsummer Nightmare!, presented by Midnight Circle Productions and helmed by visionary director Cecilie Fray, is a bold, genre-defying reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic. Produced by the Broadway World award-winning company, this hauntingly beautiful adaptation captures both the chaos and charm of the original while plunging it into darker, more dreamlike depths.

From the moment the audience enters the performance space, it’s clear this is not traditional theatre. Each venue on the company’s tour is transformed into an enchanted garden, drawing you into an immersive, almost interactive environment. With flickering lanterns, creeping fog, and a soft midsummer breeze, the setting evokes something between a dream and a gothic fairytale. If you look closely enough, or maybe just believe hard enough, you might catch a fairy slipping between the trees.

The production leans heavily into the surreal and eerie qualities of the play, amplifying the sense of mischief, confusion, and illusion that has always been at its heart. This isn’t just a “Midsummer Night’s Dream” with a twist, it’s a full-on nightmare, but one that retains the warmth and wit of Shakespeare’s writing. The result is a richly atmospheric experience that is at times unsettling, at times hilarious, and always captivating.

One of the most impressive elements of the production is the cast’s dual role as both performers and musicians. Every actor on stage contributes not just to the storytelling but also to the show’s live soundscape, through haunting harmonies, folk-inspired instrumentation, and ambient vocalizations. This creates a constantly shifting sonic world that mirrors the instability of the enchanted forest and the characters’ emotional turmoil.

Standout performances abound. Nadia Lamin brings a touching vulnerability and fierce comic energy to Helena, whose desperate love for Demetrius, played with arrogance and occasional softness by Charlie Macrae-Tod, anchors some of the play’s most painfully funny scenes. Their chemistry adds fresh depth to one of the play’s most turbulent love stories.

Sam Bird is a magnetic presence as Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, the mischievous fairy who gleefully causes much of the chaos. His physicality, timing, and voice work bring an unpredictable edge to the role, while Chloe Orrock’s regal and brooding Oberon offers a powerful counterbalance. The decision to gender-swap the fairy king adds further intrigue to their dynamic.

Meanwhile, Titania, portrayed by Kennedy Jopson, exudes grace and quiet power, while her scenes with Bottom, played by Jed McLoughlin, are some of the show’s most bizarre and oddly tender moments. Their vocal performances in particular, lyrical, eerie, and emotionally charged, elevate the production’s dreamlike tone.

Costume and set design deserve special mention. Cloaked in earth tones, shadowy veils, and delicate lights, the aesthetic of the production embraces both decay and beauty. The forest feels alive, filled with secrets and whispers, while the actors’ costumes suggest they’ve wandered out of a folk horror film. The visuals, heighten the sense that this is a space out of time, where love, identity, and reality blur.

Despite its dark tone, the production doesn’t lose the play’s original humor. In fact, the comedic moments shine more brightly against the gothic backdrop, and the clever use of physical comedy and timing ensures the audience is constantly engaged, sometimes laughing, sometimes holding their breath.

If there’s one critique, it’s that the immersive elements might not work equally well in all venues, depending on the audience’s proximity to the action. However, this feels like a small price to pay for such an ambitious and original reimagining of a well-known classic.

In the end, A Midsummer Nightmare! is exactly what its title promises, a dream turned on its head. This production does not aim to comfort; it aims to enchant, unsettle, and surprise. With its stunning performances, innovative staging, and gothic flair, it invites us to rediscover Shakespeare not as a museum piece, but as a living, breathing spell of theatre.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE!

Keats House then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 13th June 2025

by Beatrice Morandi

Photography by Roj Whitelock

Previously reviewed by Beatrice:

INSIDE GIOVANNI’S ROOM | ★★★★★ | SADLER’S WELLS EAST | June 2025

MACBETH | ★★★★ | BREAD & ROSES THEATRE | May 2025

JORDAN GRAY: IS THAT A C*CK IN YOUR POCKET, OR ARE YOU JUST HERE TO KILL ME? | ★★★★★ | SOHO THEATRE | May 2025

FAYGELE | ★★★★★ | MARYLEBONE THEATRE | May 2025

ROMEO AND JULIET | ★★★★★ | HACKNEY EMPIRE | April 2025

THE GUEST | ★★★★★ | OMNIBUS THEATRE | April 2025

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE!

★★★

“There are also some really beautiful and sinister pieces of physical theatre”

It’s a dark and chilly night in Hoxton and we have come to church. After a quick safety briefing, we are ushered down a perilous staircase and into the crypt. When we reach the bottom of the stairs, we enter a different world. The crypt has been dressed to look like a Victorian pub/brothel and the Victorian Gothic dress code (which I realised after the fact) makes it hard to tell who’s audience, and who’s performing. It is totally immersive.

After some introductory general old-timey improv, the play begins proper. It’s a reworking of Frankenstein, focussing on his early life and family. Much of the story is the same as the original, but with the crucial difference that the corpse he reanimates is his mother. It’s a fascinating idea, she is both his mother and his child, though this is only lightly explored. The changes to the original story seem a little random, and occasionally quite repetitive, but it does make it feel fresher.

This play is immersive, meaning there are multiple scenes at once, and theoretically the audience can wander between them. It takes a bit of time but soon the audience feel comfortable following the sound of the most interesting room. A classic problem with immersive theatre is feeling like you’re missing something in another room. I confidently strode into a room, where crucial action had been taking place throughout the show, only to find myself (and several uncomfortable audience members) trapped watching a man rearrange a table. But the play is carefully constructed so you cannot miss vital moments, and missing some of it is part of the fun.

“The changes to the story sometimes bring an original flair, but many feel predictable and some feel completely random”

Nicholas Benjamin’s directing was impressive. The logistical side of things was executed really well, with audience shepherded from space to space and most of the scene transitions flagged fairly naturally. He played the role of Robert Walton, which allowed him, as narrator, to move us around without disturbing the main action. This is a play which is primarily focussed on world building, and an ambitious vision, which it does execute well, especially in terms of the set design, which is evocative.

Unfortunately, the script, devised by Benjamin and the cast, was a bit all over the place. There’s a chaotic mix of improv, quotes from the novel, and original dialogue. The changes to the story sometimes bring an original flair, but many feel predictable and some feel completely random.

An absolute shining element of this piece is Nadia Lamin as Viktor’s Mother/The Creature. Her performance is arresting and disturbing. A moment where she is writhing and contorting across the room is made all the more horrifying by the intimacy of the space. Piers Mackenzie as William Frankenstein (Viktor’s younger brother) is also very strong, consistently using his natural comic timing to bring laughter into the space.

There are also some really beautiful and sinister pieces of physical theatre, created by movement director Chris Evans. These are performed to Nick White’s Victorian style reworkings of pop songs, something which seems to be increasingly popular, perhaps since Bridgerton. This works well for the live songs, which are exciting and energetic, but feels a bit inconsistent when it is recorded, perhaps because so much of the show is condensed into the space, and this suddenly takes us out of it.

The immersive element is well executed, and worth a visit for that alone. The story itself is a bit weaker, but it is an enjoyable experience overall.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE!

Keats House

★★★★

“a richly atmospheric experience that is at times unsettling, at times hilarious, and always captivating”

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE!

Keats House then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 13th June 2025

by Beatrice Morandi

Photography by Roj Whitelock

Previously reviewed by Beatrice:

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE!

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE!

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE!

FRANKENSTEIN at St Peter’s Church Crypt

★★★

“There are also some really beautiful and sinister pieces of physical theatre”

“The changes to the story sometimes bring an original flair, but many feel predictable and some feel completely random”

FRANKENSTEIN at St Peter’s Church Crypt

Reviewed on 4th October 2023

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Roj Whitelock

Top rated shows in September

Frankenstein

Frankenstein

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