Dream turned into a Nightmare
Shakespeare’s Globe
If you were thinking of treating the kids to the Globe’s first ever production of Shakespeare’s popular comedy about fairies, you may have to think again . Their website warns: ‘It contains loud noises, strong language, scenes of sexual content, drug use and gunshots.’ Headlong theatre’s Holly Race Roughan (with co-director Naeem Hayat) has found every dark element in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and then proceeds to darken it. The result pleased some critics and outraged others. Nearly all were shocked by the new violent ending. Danny Kirrane received praise for his coke-snorting, downtrodden Bottom.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑
Kate Wyver for The Guardian explained: ‘comedy and horror sit cheek by jowl, as director Holly Race Roughan conjures a nightmarish take on Shakespeare’s classic dream.’
Using the word ‘creepy’ more than once, Tim Bano at The Standard explained: ‘what is usually a summery froth of fairies and lovers (turns) into a crisp and frosty fairytale, a kind of sexed-up Narnia, twisting a Grimm story out of one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays.’ He ended: ‘(the) climax may not be for everyone, but the ride to reach it is wonderful, as Roughan rids the play of any trace of hazy summer, and turns it instead into a deeply unsettling winter’s tale.’
Holly O’Mahony for The Stage warned: ‘Nothing is quite as it seems. At court, the soon-to-be-weds Theseus and Hippolyta are at each other’s throats with knives and guns, while in the forest – which, on Max Johns’ set of crisp linen and polished white floor, offers no trace of woodland – there’s nothing playful about the sinister fairies, who hurl charms that land with the crack of a whip.’ She pointed out: ‘The text sometimes battles against Roughan and Hayat’s high-concept reframing, which takes considerable creative licence (…) But what becomes a mesmerisingly unusual reading ultimately wins out.’
Rachel Halliburton at The Arts Desk also endorsed the interpretation: ‘this is a sharply beguiling production, full of wit and vigour. Some might condemn it for trying too hard to shock, but there’s nothing we see on stage that isn’t in a text that I, personally, find more fascinatingly disturbing each time I read it. The Tarantino-style ending certainly makes jaws drop, yet there are plenty of real-life tyrants who would not hesitate to deal with outspoken individuals as callously as Marcus’s king does. Go, and bank on a wild time – it’s credible, clever, and you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.’
Alun Hood for WhatsOnStage found: ‘There are few laughs but plenty of chills, cruelty and intimations of some of the worst of human behaviour, from coercion to paedophilia. If you let go of the idea of traditional enchantment, it’s a compelling piece of theatre.’
3 stars ⭑⭑⭑
Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski was confused, all the way to the changed end: ‘to me it felt like a cruel, capricious whim that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, ending an enjoyably spikey Dream on a note of pure WTF.’
Julia Rank for LondonTheatre seemed taken aback by the ‘brutality’. She concluded: ‘Not everything in this production gels but it does lead to a genuinely shocking denouement. It isn’t easy to make amends and request the hand of friendship under such circumstances.’
2 stars ⭑⭑
Kirsten Grant wrote in The Telegraph: ‘Headlong Theatre’s grim new production for the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse takes one of the few Shakespearean comedies that remains genuinely funny, and strips it of much of its romance, enchantment and humour.’ Her parting shot: ‘What a nightmare this Dream is.’
Ben Dowell for The Times called it: ‘a spare, pitch black ballet-themed spectacle full of spite and horror – with a needlessly shocking final scene that has to be seen to be believed.’ Not that he’s encouraging you to see it: ‘a summer dream becomes a wintry nightmare you’ll be glad to wake up from.’
Critics’ average rating: 3.3⭑
A Midsummer Night’s Dream can be seen at Shakespeare’s Globe until 31 January 2026. It will then tour to Shakespeare North (4–7 February), Leeds Playhouse (14–28 February), Bristol Old Vic (4–21 March), and Oxford Playhouse (24–28 March). For tickets go directly to shakepsearesglobe.com. For tour details, visit headlong.co.uk
If you’ve seen the Globe/Headlong production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, please leave your review/rating below