'A Midsummer Night's Dream' review — this musical production features a fairy band and a rock chick Titania

Read our review of A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Atri Banerjee, now in performances at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre to 18 July.

Summary

• Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream comes to Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• Atri Banerjee’s production features music by Maimuna Memon and a fairy band
• Jenny Raisnford is a glamorous rock chick Titania
• Deaf actor Nadeem Islam performs Bottom in a mix of speech and BSL

Following the heatwave and the welcome restoration of the circulation of fresh air, Atri Banerjee’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre opened on an evening that was sufficiently breezy to put a cardigan on at the interval. There wasn’t any moon to light our way home, but you can’t have everything.

Rather than directly leaning into the sylvan setting, Banerjee’s staging takes place on wooden bleachers (designed by Naomi Dawson) upon which the actors scramble around, which calls to mind a school auditorium, and on which the only prop is a single tiny purple flower. It’s rather Jamie Lloyd-esque, in the vein of his Evita (which was first seen at Regent’s Park).

The production is imbued with a 1970s indie soft rock sensibility, showcasing music by Maimuna Memon that’s inspired by the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Sandy Denny. As we enter the fairy world, the set opens to reveal a recording studio in the woods inhabited by the fairy band (Rachel Barnes, Amelia Gabriel, Rori Hawthorn, and Damien James) in their deconstructed flower child outfits (costume design by Tomás Palmer). The songs are led by Gabriel as Mustardseed, who has a suitably ethereal and fey quality to her voice. Georgia Bruce’s Puck also contributes to the musical values and provides some cheeky ad libs.

A considerable amount of the production’s power is generated by Jenny Rainsford’s Titania, who, with her platinum blonde and pink hair and white silk slip dress, is a glamorous rock chick in the mould of Marianne Faithfull or Courtney Love. She doesn’t hold back in her tirade towards Oberon (Olivier Huband), and the two are convincing as a volatile rock couple (Rainsford and Huband double as Theseus and Hippolyta, who are rather more polite, suggesting a media-trained pop couple).

Deaf actor Nadeem Islam performs as Bottom in a mix of speech and BSL (none of the other mechanicals, who otherwise provide an inclusive environment, know BSL, but Titania does), and is full of childlike enthusiasm, perhaps suggesting an ongoing struggle to make himself heard. Harriet Gordon-Anderson is a Quince of considerable patience and Issam Al Ghussain is a sweet Flute (his delight when Bottom returns de-assified is one of the most joyful moments of the evening).

Among the lovers, who wear costumes featuring erratic elements of historical dress, Mary Malone is the most distinctive of the four thanks to the physical comedy and gawkiness that she brings to Helena, and Hiftu Quasem is an endearing Hermia with her soft Scottish accent.

The production is on the languid side, and this isn’t the funniest, most coherent or most visually beautiful Dream ever (the concurrent production at the Globe sounds more successful in creating a sense of unified elation). However, there’s enough to enjoy for an al fresco evening where birdsong and human voices come together in harmony as the sun sets.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre to 18 July. Book A Midsummer Night's Dream tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Photos by Marc Brenner)