By Megan
Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/products/the-dream-2017
Available until: 18th April 2021
The Dream is based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and it’s a beautiful ballet. It doesn’t tell the full story, there’s no Theseus and Hippolyta, and the Mechanicals (apart from Bottom) only have a very short appearance but you do get to see the Lovers and the Fairies.
By Dave
Link: https://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on
Available until: There is at least one livestream every day except Monday until Saturday 20th March. Performances times very a lot, ranging from 10am to 8pm.
Dream is a stunning and extraordinary production based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream which makes use of technology and the power of movement. It can be enjoyed for free as a member of the audience or you can buy an Audience Plus ticket and have some influence on what is seen onscreen.
By Dave
Link to Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkJ6JLqMLw4&t=30s
Link to Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrWuvxv8BkI
Link to Episide 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XffD3TFuLLQ
Available until: Unknown
The Mechanicals is a retelling of the Mechanicals’ scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But it’s not just any retelling. They’re in the middle of a pandemic and their rehearsals at least need to be conducted online. Not easy when one of them is ‘slow of study’ and hasn’t figured out the Zoom camera yet and Bottom is still Bottom even in 2021.
By Cal
Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare
Available until: Unknown
It’s easy to think of a play as something that’s there to entertain the audience. The cast and creatives do their job. We enjoy ourselves. But actually, acting can be a lot of fun for the performers too and that’s something you really notice with Shakes-Scene Shakespeare. They’re having an absolutely brilliant time.
By Emma
Link: https://americanshakespearecenter.com/blkfrstv_catalog
Available until: You can buy this on
its own or in a package with Othello or Twelfth Night or you can buy all 3
together at a discount which sounds like buy 2, get 1 free. If you buy a
package, you have two weeks to watch it. I’m not sure about if you only buy
one.
I have seen more polished Midsummer
Night’s Dreams than this one but director Nathan Winkelstein has created a
very funny production with some really creative ideas which I love and they
perform it with lots of enthusiasm which is really lovely to watch. They’re
performing at the Blackfriars Playhouse, which is a really beautiful theatre
with a gorgeous wooden stage and you can also see some of the seats right at
the side of the stage.
By Megan
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFBe-PSLB74
Available until: Unknown
Sofa Shakespeare is so much fun and A
Midsummer Night’s Dream gives actors lots of opportunities to mess around
and be funny.
But there are still some really
powerful and serious scenes. At the start, one of the Hippolytas seemed to be
behind bars. There is probably a really clever reason which I’ve missed because
I’m only ten and I miss a lot of things but I was wondering if maybe Hippolyta was
a prisoner before her marriage. Theseus says he wooed her with his sword so
they would have been fighting on opposite sides.
By Aashiq
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txHaPB6S6AU
Available until: Don’t ask me. No-one tells me anything.
Watching a Lord Chamberlain’s Men production like stepping
back in time, without having to suffer all the inconveniences that would go
with it like a complete lack of internet access and anti-ageing facials and the
small matter of my marriage being illegal. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream is an absolutely gorgeous production and I’m not
just saying that because all the actors are men.
By Louise
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-esDHd6CPc&list=PLpmwWuIh57wY66Jq06IauzKw_EU_iFGAs
Available until: 30th August, 5pm
The Fairy Queen is quite difficult to classify. The
music was written by Henry Purcell as incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s
Dream and was played between the scenes. The score includes songs, but the
singers don’t really have consistent characters or tell a story of their own.
Many people call it a semi-opera, which probably also makes it a semi-play, but
there is also dancing so is it also partly a ballet? Semi means half so I think
if you include ballet, it’s a trient-opera, play and ballet. I’ve watched and I’m
still not sure what I’d say it is.
By Louise
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVJWYHxajHs
Available until: Indefinitely
I enjoy all the Zoom productions I have seen in lockdown,
but one thing which makes Shakespeare Happy Hours special is the fact they cast
their plays from the same small group of actors. Not all the actors are in
every production, but they all seem to perform regularly. It is really nice that
I can watch the opening credits and see who’s playing who and get excited
because I remember them from a previous role.
