A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Barbican Theatre | Theatre review
Originally staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, Eleanor Rhode’s iteration of A Midsummer Night’s Dream now brings its extraordinary cast, larger-than-life comedy and innovative set design to the Barbican Centre. With the magical touch of its Illusion Director and Designer, professional magician John Bulleid, the enchanting production captivates with both its theatrical brilliance and spellbinding visual effects.
As soon as the characters depart from Athens, the Barbican Theatre’s sprawling stage is transformed into a vibrant, otherworldly forest brimming with chaos and enchantment. Colour-changing orbs suspended from above mimic the mercurial moods of the fairy realm, their lighting rapidly shifting to mirror the play’s breakneck escalations. At one point, a batch of rainbow-coloured plastic balls suddenly descends upon the characters, adding to the unbridled unpredictability of this fantastical world. And the inclusion of whimsically executed illusions – such as …