A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Five couples – three human, one fairy, and one mythical – find their relationships sorely tested, intimately probed and indecently exposed when a troupe of amateur theatricals bumble into the forest to rehearse a play. 

Shakespeare’s timeless comic masterpiece explores every colour in the spectrum of love, from arranged marriage to elopement, from infatuation to hatred, from chivalric devotion to raw sex. Add a heady brew of confusion, magic and mischief to this bawdy mix, and you have the most perfectly frothy comedy for a moonlit summer evening. 

Illyria’s productions are slick, physical and imaginative in execution. They are played with characteristic briskness – Shakespeare was, after all, unequivocal about how long his plays take to perform. Find more information about Illyria and their past performances on their website.

Each play is inspired by performance techniques of Elizabethan touring troupes, such as live music and song, inclusion of the audience in the proceedings, contemporary references and robustness of style.

Comedy & Shakespeare Workshop for schools I Friday 9 September (16+)

Attention teachers! STET Education’s annual open air workshop is back in Wassenaar! Since a whole-night Shakespeare is often too long and daunting for teenagers we have devised this interactive workshop for your students! Illyria will illustrate key scenes from Midsummer Night’s Dream and students will participate dynamically, helped by professional actors. Your students will gain insight into one of Shakespeare’s most frequently performed comedies and even get a chance to hop on stage if they like. More information here.