Midsummer Nights Dream Review

U of T holds a witty and daring performance of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Harthouse Theatre. The directors of this play chose to change the setting from Athens, Greece to Athens, Canada around the time of British colonization. Some viewers prefered the setting to stay the same, but I personally enjoyed it the way it was. The setting did not change the storyline at all. It made viewers learn and understand more about Canada's history and native culture.

The conflict of this story is basically a love triangle or square between Hermia, Lysander, Demitrius and Helena. They are in a very complicated situation. Lysander and Hermia are in love but Hermia's father Egeus, does not approve. He wants Hermia to marry Demitrius who is also in love with Hermia. While Hermia's best friend is crazy in love with Demitrius. The King of the Fairies, Oberon interferes and gets Puck to help with this situation, but that only complicates it more. Oberon also has problems with his lady, Hippolyta and Puck makes that situation more complicated. In the end, all the problems are fixed.

This play was very well done. The actors were very good and believeable. They were almost a bit over dramatic, but that is what made the play entertaining. Some of the actors were very good at projecting their voices, but they had a little bit of a spitting problem, the people in the front row got the most of it. The length of time of this play was just right, if it was any longer I think people would lose interest in it. This play was very entertaining and I don't think there were any parts of the play that anyone would want to miss. The set was also very beautiful and well done, they had these tall beams that looked like trees in the beginning, and in the end they turned into totem poles.

I would not recommend this play to a younger audience because it will not be worth their $18 as most of them will not understand the play.