Fairies and undies to delight

Shakespeare’s campest play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, known for its gay undertones and themes of sexual experimentation, is returning to the Sydney Theatre Company this month.

Director Edward Dick has taken charge of what promises to be a cutting-edge and contemporary production, but using the traditional text.

“The play deals with love and sex but in a more direct, brutal and raw way,” Dick said.

“It’s an amazing play with three stories intertwining into three completely different worlds. The four lovers escape from a paternal, male-dominated society in Athens. One of the girls’ fathers wants her to marry someone else, so she escapes into the forest with her lover.”

Once the lovers are in the forest, rumours of dirty orgies, mystical drugs and confused sprites surround the characters.

Dick said he wanted to highlight the raw emotions and all the permutations of loving one another.

“It’s going to be a theatrical experience, with the actors releasing their inner fairy and exploring each other’s limits,” he said.

Costume designer Tess Schofield has worked hard to embrace the tone and theme of the play, giving it a fashionably sexy but not gratuitous feel.

“The costumes really embrace the Athenian world,” Dick said.

“Costumes will range from black tie to underwear when the actors are rolling around in the mud together.

“And when the four young lovers are rolling in the mud – almost naked – in a flippant way they explore their feelings in an amazing and funny way.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream opens Thursday 16 August. Bookings 9250 1777.