A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Bridge Theatre Review
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| By
Hay Brunsdon
Shakespeare’s original rom-com, upgraded and away with the fairies (in the best possible way).
The Bridge Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is back — and it’s just as wild, magical, and joyfully unhinged as ever. Returning for a limited run after its five-star debut in 2019, Nicholas Hytner’s immersive production throws audiences headfirst into a dream world of flying fairies, shifting stages, and moonlit revelry.
From the moment you enter, the flower-crown-adorned audience with standing tickets are gently guided into the heart of the action — a shifting in-the-round set up where platforms rise, fairies swoop overhead, and characters emerge from the crowd. At one point, a giant tent ripples out over the audience, giving full-on 90s P.E. lesson vibes in the best, most surreal way. It’s theatre as a playground: unpredictable, vibrant, and delightfully chaotic.
At the heart of the production is the now-iconic role reversal between Titania and Oberon. This switch gives the play a fresh pulse. Susannah Fielding’s Titania is magnetic — playful, powerful, and sharp as a whip. JJ Feild’s lovestruck Oberon, meanwhile, leans into the ridiculousness of enchantment with charm and self-awareness. I was absolutely obsessed with his troop of attendant fairies who entwine and swoop around his four-poster bed (it’s giving ‘sugar rush at a sleepover after one too many Maoams’ energy).
David Moorst returns as Puck with the same anarchic brilliance he brought in 2019 — part trickster, part host, part aerial sprite — hooking the audience into the chaos like an over-caffeinated wedding DJ. He’s impossible to look away from; imagine a drug-fuelled Daffy from The Beach doing his creepy “bedside hover,” only with his delicious Northern drawl. Loved it.
Emmanuel Akwafo is a new standout as Bottom, bringing warmth and hilarity to the role without ever overplaying it. The lovers bring their own brand of delightful disorder — all tangled limbs, jealous outbursts, breathless declarations and slick comic timing that mines every laugh from Shakespeare’s tangled web of affection and rejection.
Visually, the show is a marvel. Bunny Christie’s design, Bruno Poet’s lighting, and the use of music and movement all combine into something more like a fever dream than a traditional play. It’s loud, glittery, and unafraid to turn Shakespeare into a late-night party.
This isn’t a dusty classic poked awake for summer. It’s a lively, buzzing romp that pulls you in and keeps you on your toes. Whether it’s your first time or you’re returning from 2019, it’s a night you won’t forget.
Who hasn’t dreamt of running off into the woods with the fairies?! Playing at the Bridge Theatre until Wed 20 August, book your tickets to A Midsummer Night’s Dream today. Magic, mayhem, and mistaken identity await!
P.S. Being grabbed on the arm by Lynn from Alan Partridge (Felicity Montagu) and shepherded into the ‘Midsummer moshpit’ to dance at the end of the show is how I want to spend every Thursday night, please.