A Midsummer Night’s Dream Bridge Theatre: Love, Mischief and a Party in the Pit

A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Bridge Theatre | until the 20th August, 2025

It starts quietly, moves into the forest, then ends in a rave – with giant bouncing balls, aerial fairies and a full-on dance party. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is back at the Bridge Theatre, in the same immersive style as its 2019 outing, and once again under the direction of Nicholas Hytner. And it’s just brilliant.

If you caught Guys and Dolls at the Bridge recently, you’ll know the setup: the audience can either sit back or be part of the action, standing in the pit and being moved around while the show happens all around, and above, you.

Last time I was downstairs in the thick of it. This time I watched from the balcony, and it was like seeing a completely different show. That’s part of the joy with these productions in that you get something new each time. From above, I could properly see the silks, choreographed in perfect synchronicity, which was mesmerising.

The silk work is everywhere. The cast dangle, twist and fly through the air, without wires, I might add, while delivering Shakespeare’s verse. David Moorst, returning as Puck, is flipping, spinning, changing shape mid-air while also keeping the plot moving. He’s extraordinary.

And this is what Hytner does so well: he takes Shakespeare and makes it completely accessible. This Dream is full of life. There are big modern laughs, brilliant physicality, clever tweaks to the text, and a cast who know exactly how to land both a joke and a moment of romance. Usually, when modern jokes are chucked into Shakespeare, it can feel a desperate attempt to pander to audiences, but not here. Hytner knows how far to go, and when to pull back. It’s all kept firmly under control.

His cleverest stroke is swapping lines between Titania and Oberon. So instead of Titania falling for Bottom the donkey, it’s Oberon who does. It shifts the balance, adds a new layer, and brings in some joyful doubling with magic, fairies, boys kissing boys, girls kissing girls. It’s romantic, it’s inclusive, it’s funny, and it never stops being the Dream purists know and love.

There’s also a brilliant moment when the mechanicals, led by Bottom, feel like they’ve wandered in from Britain’s Got Talent. That whole subplot, often a slog in other productions, becomes one of the highlights. It’s funny, light on its feet, and steeped in theatrical wit. No surprise, really, Hytner is the man behind One Man, Two Guvnors, and he knows exactly how to play comedy.

If you’ve never seen immersive Shakespeare or feel that Shakespeare isn’t for you, this is the place to start. It’s joyous, romantic, and laugh-out-loud funny. And I’ll say it again: the ending is a rave. You don’t get that at the Globe.

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