Mark Holgate and Suzy Cooper in rehearsal for York Stage’s reinvention of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
WHY did artistic director and producer Nik Briggs pick A Midsummer Night’s Dream for York Stage’s debut Shakespeare production where the Bard meets the streets?
“As this is our first Shakespeare, we wanted to choose a show that, like our big musicals, appeals to the masses!” he reasons, ahead of the May 6 to 11 run at the Grand Opera House, York. “‘Dream’ is a perfect choice for this with its themes of love, rebellion and reconciliation.
“Then there are the magical aspects of the story, which really have allowed us to use the big production values that York Stage are renowned for. Audiences can expect flying fairies, big costumes, sensational music and, of course, lots of high-quality drama.”
York pantomime golden gal Suzy Cooper and York-born Royal Shakespeare Company actor Mark Holgate will lead Briggs’s company in his reinvented version that brings a bold new aesthetic to the 1594-1596 romantic comedy, one where the ancient court of Athens is replaced by Athens Court, a northern council estate, to the accompaniment of a soundtrack of Nineties and Noughties’ club classics, performed live.
Here come northern accents, enchanting extras such as magical, flying fairies and a rave in the woods, propelled by York Stage’s trademark high energy and bursts of explosive theatre inspired by such companies as Frantic Assembly.
Nik Briggs: York Stage producer and director
“Through our transportation to a council estate, we’ve been able to maintain the high dramatic stakes and mayhem that Shakespeare fuelled his story with, whilst reframing the action so a modern audience see the themes of rebellion, love, passion and community as part of a world more reminiscent of cult British dramas such as Shameless and Brassic,” says Nik.
Briggs’s production will, however, stick to Shakespeare’s script and traditional language. “The core of the production is still very much Shakespeare’s beautiful text but that doesn’t mean it’s delivered in RP [Received Pronunciation] or the King’s English. It’s Shakespeare’s text performed in our actors’ accents.
“I very much believe Shakespeare, and the brilliant stories he created, are totally accessible to everyone when told in the right way. The balance of respecting the text whilst keeping story-telling at the heart of our rehearsals means we can create a show that will be enjoyable and entertaining to audience members ranging from those who’ve never seen Shakespeare before to those who regularly pick up the complete works for some light reading.”
Nik continues: “Shakespeare created his shows for the masses from the working classes to the gentry and that should still be the case today. We aren’t making theatre for academics and upper classes; everyone should feel at home watching theatre.
“I remember seeing a brilliant production of the ‘Dream’ by Edward Hall’s Propeller when I was at school. It was the first time I’d seen Shakespeare on stage and it all just clicked for me as a school student who comes from a family who’d never read Shakespeare or been to university.
York Stage’s poster for A Midsummer Night’s Dream with its Dream casting of Suzy Cooper and Mark Holgate
“The story I saw on stage just made sense. I may not have understood every word or phrase at that stage but I knew the story clearly by the end and felt every emotion the actors were portraying.”
The comedy in ‘Dream’ will be portrayed in many different layers. “It’s our job to understand what made it funny to an Elizabethan audience and to find ways to connect that to our audience,” says Nik.
“Are there comparisons to the world we’re creating onstage that we can make from the original text etc? Then we look at how to share all this with the audience, whether it’s how we deliver the lines or through visual comedy and occasionally from ad-libs that come about naturally in rehearsals.
“Like a good cheese or wine (or curry from last night’s takeaway), it always tastes better when it’s left to mature and is enjoyed later – the comedy in our show is very much like that.
The choice of Nineties and Noughties’ dancefloor fillers emerged from the world of the Athens Court council estate. “It’s the music that would surround that world; the people who live in Athens Court would listen to and love these songs,” says Nik.
“When we shortlisted the songs, we then realised they all come from a similar time period, which we’ve taken forward into other design and cultural choices for this new setting for the show. This has led into some brilliant discoveries and invoked memories of the early ‘chav’ culture of the Nineties and Noughties, which has given us lots to play with in rehearsals.
Suzy Cooper’s Hippolyta in York Stage’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
Cue singing and dancing in Briggs’s ‘Dream’, as seen in York Stage productions aplenty. “Shakespeare’s theatre was filled with music and A Midsummer Night’s Dream has lots of music in it already. We’ve taken this, re-created it so it fits with additional music we’re using in the show. Audiences who know York Stage shows can expect the same high energy and big production numbers we have in our musicals,” says Nik.
“With a whole ensemble of mischievous and ‘chavvy’ fairies, we’ve been able to create some real wow moments that will really excite and amaze our audiences.”
Is York Stage’s show recommended for school pupils studying Shakespeare? “Yes! All ages will love this show. I think school pupils will relish in the mayhem of our production. There are some naughtier aspects but there is nothing that’s not in the original version and indeed the pace and high japes energy we’re bringing to the story will be perfect for the Gen Alpha, TikTok-loving audience.
May Tether, who first made her mark on the York stage before appearing in the West End production and UK tour of Heathers The Musical, will be returning north to sing such songs as Free From Desire and Show Me Love.
“I am so excited to be returning to perform at the Grand Opera House,” she says. “It’s always felt like home for me. To be involved with a Shakespeare production is so exciting and in such a special venue to my heart, I can’t ask for anything more.”
York Stage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Grand Opera House, York, May 6 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees. A 20-minute Q&A with the cast will follow Wednesday’s matinee, ideal for schools. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
What happens in A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
“IN the mystical twilight of Midsummer’s Night, the realms of reality and fairy blur. Four youthful lovers, grappling with the prospect of a loveless union, flee the confines of Athens, wandering into an enchanted forest.
Meanwhile, a troupe of aspiring actors rehearses a play to commemorate an impending royal wedding. As these unsuspecting mortals cross paths with the tumultuous clash of a fairy King and Queen, chaos reigns in the natural world.
The lines between truth and magic begin to dissolve, leaving only the whimsical Puck privy to the secrets of what is real and what is spun from enchantment.”
May Tether returns to York Stage
May Tether: Reuniting with York Stage to play the singing siren Moon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
MAY Tether, who first made her mark on the York stage before heading to the West End, will be returning north to sing such songs as Free From Desire and Show Me Love in York Stage’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
“I am so excited to be returning to perform at the Grand Opera House,” she says. “It’s always felt like home for me. To be involved with a Shakespeare production is so exciting and in such a special venue to my heart, I can’t ask for anything more.”
May made her professional debut in York Stage’s pandemic pantomime, Jack And The Beanstalk, in December 2020 before appearing in the West End smash hit and UK tour of Heathers The Musical, where she played the lead role of Veronica Sawyer many times.
May Tether as Elle Woods in York Stage’s production of Legally Blonde The Musical
She has since performed in Halls The Musical at the Turbine Theatre, York and Boy George’s Taboo at the London Palladium; played Dainty June in Gypsy The Musical In Concert at the Manchester Opera House and performed with the John Godber Company in Moby Dick at Stage@The Dock, Hull.
Her York Stage credits at the Grand Opera House include playing Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray and Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical.
York Stage producer Nik Briggs says: “I’m so looking forward to working once again with May. Since meeting her at 16 years of age, I always knew she was set for a brilliant career in performing, and only a few years after graduating she is already doing this!
“Her powerful vocals and huge range, alongside her transfixing performance presence, will be a huge asset in our show. Reuniting her with Stephen Hackshaw, who is arranging and composing the soundtrack for the show, will undoubtedly lead to a sensational musical result.”
May Tether as Jill Gallop in York Stage’s pandemic pantomime Jack And The Beanstalk