Theatre Department Puts A 1960s Spin On The Shakespeare Classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

William Shakespeare remains notorious and celebrated for his lasting contributions to the theatre world as a playwright, despite his death occurring over 400 years ago. This year, Liberty’s theatre program is taking on one of his well-known classics, but this time, with a surprising twist.

Director Neal Brasher said he has made it a mission in life to share Shakespeare with others, and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a crowd favorite. It is a classic love story intertwined with comedy and the supernatural: fairies, magic spells and potions. 

With this semester’s production, Brasher chose to switch things up, taking it back to the 1960s with a vibrant, whimsical twist on the classic Shakespeare play.

The rock and roll music, vivid colors and psychedelic aura of the 60s accentuate the timeless motif of individuals striking out on their own and wanting to make decisions themselves. 

“The idea of young people rebelling against their parents is not a new one,” Brasher said. “I want the audience to identify with the characters.” 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” deals with a very recognizable concept: the illusive nature of love. From the down-to-earth setting of Athens, Greece, marked by boots, blazers and a monochrome backdrop to the whimsical realm of the fairies full of mischief and magic, the show demonstrates a complicated juxtaposition of fantasy and reality. 

The kaleidoscopic colors and dazzling costumes emphasize the dreamlike, fanciful essence of love and its close entanglement with imagination. Helena, a young woman infatuated by the uninterested Demetrius, expressed her sorrow. 

“Love looks with the mind not with the eyes / And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind,” Helena, portrayed by junior Ashley Banker, said.

Banker found it easy to sympathize with her character’s cause. 

“She deals a lot with unrequited love,” Banker said. “Everybody goes through that at some point.” 

Though unrequited love is a tough theme, the play remains lighthearted through its side plots. 

Lysander and Demetrius tumble dramatically around the forest in chase of each other, waving discarded coats like matadors and preparing to duel for their chosen woman.

Puck, a fairy sporting a purple bob and holographic sneakers played by senior Bethany Baldwin, makes mischief with love potions. She crowns the flamboyant, egocentric Nick Bottom with a donkey’s head midway through the story.

Carpenter Peter Quince’s band of amateurs engages in laughably poor acting as they bumble through a play within a play.

“They’re all very separate [worlds], but they blend and seep into each other,” senior Gretchen Eckert, who plays Hermia, said. 

The Athenians never see the fairies but are influenced by them. It is part of the nature of love as Shakespeare pens it, highlighting fleeting moments of magic in everyday life.

The dramatic, comedic tale in its entirety is an enchanting journey through an alternate world, far different than the play’s classic interpretation.

“Shakespeare is supposed to be fun,” Brasher said. “It’s supposed to be enjoyable. Shakespeare really understood humanity.”  

Eckert agreed that Shakespeare’s works are both highly celebrated and timeless.

“[The play] is hundreds of years old, but it’s completely relevant and hilarious and can still carry such meaning,” Eckert said. 

Despite the quarrels, rivalries and misunderstandings that occur in the forest, the imbalance resolves itself into a traditional happy ending. 

“Jack shall have Jill / Naught shall go ill / The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well,” Puck said as she restored order.

The play closes with the implication that the whole adventure was delusive and surreal, inviting audiences to take a closer look at reality. 

“I have had a most rare vision / I had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was,” Nick Bottom said, newly returned to his human state.

“A Midsummer’s Night Dream” is showing March 5-14. For more ticket information and show times, visit their website.

Sonia Long is a Feature Reporter.