Midsummer Magic
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The cast of Midsummer Night’s Dream
On Saturday June 13, the Midsummer Dreamers invited families to tumble headfirst into a world of fairy magic, theatrical chaos, and larger-than-life laughter in Midsummer Magic, a vibrant children’s adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Packed with playful storytelling, physical comedy, and moments of joyful audience delight, this retelling introduced children to Shakespeare through imagination, humour, and heart.
Ahead of the performance, children and families took part in a hands-on creative workshop at Art in the Docks studio, where imaginations ran wild through themed arts and crafts inspired by the show. Participants made fairy-inspired creations that helped them to join in on the on-stage magic during the performance.
Prior to the performance day, local residents and university students worked together to paint the set and make the props.
Stories like A Midsummer Night's Dream remind us that creativity, imagination and play are powerful tools for bringing people together. By presenting this in an accessible community setting, local residents were immersed in a significant element of the UK's shared cultural heritage. It was great to see children and families engaging so enthusiastically with Shakespeare in a way that felt accessible, welcoming and fun.
Midsummer Magic certainly brought magic into the docklands. This cast of East15 performers were full of lively energy and expertly told the story of Midsummer Night’s Dream with humour and energy.
Quince (Zerphy) leads the Mechanicals, a rowdy group of amateur actors, as they prepare for their performance for Oberon (Lotara) and Titania (Eriksen). Zerphy’s stressed, yet charismatic portrayal of Quince keeps the play moving along at pace, and her physical comedy as she instructs the mechanicals lands well with the young audience, as many giggles are heard when she bosses the mechanicals around. Mahe does a fantastic job with the overly confident Bottom, using equal parts cocky actor and dimwitted fool in her portrayal of the beloved character. Peck plays the reluctant Snug with exact comedic timing as he is forced to take on not just one role, but three.
The comedy of the play is interspersed with scenes of fairy magic, which we are brought into by harmonious music from Aro. Her gentle guitar brings us into the fairy realm where we meet Puck (Singlestein). The mischievous Puck easily gets the audience on their side, managing to build a fairy army of the audience, who wave their wands and cast spells as Puck commands, contributing to the magic on stage with the wands they made in the craft workshop before the performance. Singlestein and Lotara have great chemistry as Puck and Oberon, and their tricks cause mayhem for not only the mechanicals, but Titania. Titania (Eriksen) is the victim of Puck’s and Oberon love-curse, and her portrayal of the donkey-love-stricken Titania is in hilarious contrast to the serious and grounded fairy queen we meet at the beginning of the play.
Overall, this play was a celebration of creativity, collaboration, and the joy of making theatre together, and the workshop and performance made a memorable experience for children and families alike.
“Arts and cultural activity that brings in the local community at every stage of the creative journey is so much richer for it and particular in an area like Newham where there is so much creativity to be found. We, at Culture Within Newham, have seen Art in the Docks doing this across all their work with authenticity and joy at every step of the way”
CAST / CREW
Elise Eriksen: Director / Titania
Zofia Zerphy: Director / Quince
Fiona Lotara: Oberon / Flute
Luca Singlestein: Puck
Gaby Mahe: Bottom
Billy Peck: Snug
Meeri Aro: Musical Direction
