Wirral’s Hand in Hand Theatre to perform modern sequel to A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Royal Shakespeare Company project

Aug 31 2011 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

A WIRRAL theatre company will perform a modern sequel to A Midsummer Night's Dream as part of a project organised by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Hand in Hand Theatre is one of 300 companies across the UK taking part in the RSC's Open Stages, which aims to celebrate amateur theatre and develop fresh links with the world of professional theatre.

Participating groups are asked to stage a William Shakespeare-themed production – either one of the playwright's works or plays written about or inspired by him – across 2011/12.

Although the Hillbark Players performed their own RSC Open Stage production in June, Hand in Hand is the only Wirral theatre company taking part in 2012.

Hand in Hand's After the Dream will be performed as an open-air tour of parks and open spaces across Wirral for two weeks next June.

The play picks up the story of Helena and Demetrius 20 years after their marriage at the end A Midsummer's Night Dream – and looks at what might happen if Demetrius was no longer under the spell which made him fall in love with his bride.

Writer and director Bev Clark said the garden-set play would be accessible to both lovers of Shakespeare and audiences new to the world of Lysander, Puck and Titania.

She told Day and Night: “It was an idea that I had a long time ago and you always think 'one day I'll write that'.

“I was going to do a youth musical production but I wanted to do something smaller scale and in a non-theatre environment.

“We're doing our prologue from the play itself and then it moves to modern dress and the day they're celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary.

“The fairies come back because Titania, queen of the fairies, has decided they have interfered with fate. They take the form of New Age travellers who turn up claiming they've broken down. As the spell wears off, all hell lets loose.

“It deals with modern themes like people falling out of love and marriages falling apart after a long time, but people who know Shakespeare will get the in-jokes.”

Three more women are needed to join the cast – one tall woman in her early 40s, one young woman aged about 20 and of slight build, and a 30-40-year-old with a good Irish accent.

Auditions will take place in September. Some previous acting experience is necessary, but Bev is also looking for volunteers who would like to be involved backstage, front of house or with fundraising.

The preparations for After the Dream caps a busy year for Bev and Hand in Hand, who made it to the semi-finals of the All-England Drama Festival with the original play Bentley – The Road to Justice and had three nominations in the prestigious NODA awards for The Importance of Being Ernest.

She said: “It's been a really good year but also a very busy one. My feet haven't touched the ground so I'm concentrating on one thing at the moment!”

For more information on After the Dream, e-mail handinhandtheatre@googlemail.com or call 07949 457698.