The Marlborough Theatre,
Brighton, 2015
We undertook a four week creative research project into adapting Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream into a piece which explored gender stereotypes and relationships, taking the four lovers and casting Demetrius and Hermia as female and male respectively. The project examines why we fall in love and what happens when we lose control of our senses, while exploring ideas of gender, sexuality, and LGBTQ representation.
We ran discussion events with the trans*community in Brighton, exploring how they wanted to see their experiences represented onstage.
Creative team and performers
Michael Fatogun
Harrie Hayes
Marie Rabe
John Bannister
Directed by Jessica Cheetham
Dramaturgy by Simon Magnus
Produced by Hannah Tookey
Set design Kelly Edwards Good
Projections Kara Darch
Sound Design Tim Shaw
The Lovers is dynamic both in its content and presentation: VJ artist Kara Darch has infused the space with her visceral animations. As she operates them live onstage, she’s responding directly to the four actors, and them to her. It’s hugely collaborative, with Tim Shaw’s soundscapes completing the multimedia experience.“ – We Love Brighton
The four lovers from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream are flung into a new adventure bewitched by the fairy world of soundscapes and live onstage animations. We begin with Theodore and Anthony, a same-sex couple who plan to run away together to find a more tolerant society. Elizabeth is in love with Theodore; furious with this news she pursues him into the woods. In turn they are followed by Helena who loves Elizabeth.
Spun Glass Theatre is passionate about audiences, and during the research and development of this project we invited the community to discuss how the LGBTQ characters could be represented onstage. A panel of representatives from charities and the arts chaired small discussion groups around the issues in the piece. The panel included Gary Pargeter - Lunch Positive, and Edward Whelan – Mind Out in Brighton.