On April 23, 24 and 25 Middleton High School (MHS) theatre performed their production of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Although the play was written in the Elizabethan era of England, it is set in ancient Athens.
The Shakespearean play’s main plot begins as Duke Theseus (Colin Buckley) is about to marry Hippolyta (Selah Streets), the former queen of the Amazons, and follows Hermia (Ailin Cobo Sanchez), Lysander (Ian Tressler), Demetrius (Isaac Freiberg), and Helena (Olive Ballard). Hermia’s father Egeus (Everrett Mann) has promised her hand to Demetrius, but Hermia and Lysander are in love. Meanwhile, Demetrius is too preoccupied with Hermia to notice that Helena is infatuated with him. Duke Theseus decides that because he is Hermia’s father, it is up to Egeus to decide who Hermia will marry. Wishing to stay with her love Lysander, Hermia flees with him. They end up wandering into an enchanted forest which houses Queen Titania (Anya Schoolmeesters) and King Oberon (Charlie Vanderbloemen) of the fairies and their fairy attendants.
Demetrius still wants to marry Hermia, so when she runs away, he follows, and for the same reason Helena follows him. As night falls they all separately fall asleep in the forest. Oberon’s mischievous servant Puck (Isa Killian) uses a magical flower, which makes the victims fall in love with the next person they see, on the Athenians.
As this all happens, a theatre troupe is preparing a play for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. They are led by their director, Peter Quince (Aubrey Montgomery), however the obnoxious and hilarious Nick Bottom (Josephine Vandervest), who plays the main character, often slots himself in that role instead.
The play culminates at the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta when all the storylines converge in an ending that makes the entire tale seem nothing more than a midsummer night’s dream.
The actors of MHS theatre put on an astounding and comedic performance. The work of costume designers and hair and makeup artists were truly impressive. Lastly, the set designers were nothing short of excellent. From the wedding venue of Hippolyta and Theseus to the chambers of queen Titania the set kept the audience immersed and awestruck.
