Review: A Midsummer Night's Dream on Leamington stage is a perfect antidote for winter

What better cheer for a winter’s night than A Midsummer Night’s Dream? In fact, once you’ve seen The Loft Theatre’s production in Leamington Spa, which runs till December 10th, you’ll wonder why it isn’t performed more often in this season of darkness and cold. It’s the perfect antidote.

Nor is it the only choice to make you wonder. Under Michael Rolfe’s witty direction, the scene moves to the 1960s, a period so in tune with the play’s themes of drug induced happiness, and youthful rebellion, that it might have been written in and for that decade.

Not that the play is all about heady pleasure. There’s a darker thread that emerges in this clever, beautifully staged performance. The women, Helena (Leonie Slater) and Hermia (Daisy M. Stone) in particular, may be the objects of their lovers’ heightened desires, but they are also abused by their men’s fantasies as they are placed on various shifting pedestals and expected to conform. Luckily, they have some real fire in them as they tell the men exactly what they think. The decade of free love was not free for all.

The acting, as ever at the Loft, is superb. I could point to every actor in turn if space allowed. I was particularly enchanted by Rod Wilkinson as Bottom, who gave the part a muscular quality which worked well. Helena and Hermia are well met by their lovers Demetrius (Ted McGowan) and Lysander (Edward Henrickson), who between them show the full gamut of teenage emotions, from drippy love to furious outrage. The fairies provide a charming chorus of well sung reflections on the scene, picked from the vast repertoire of dreamy pop songs that characterised the era.

The set deserves a special mention. Uncluttered downstage, the projected backdrop of a dense, magical forest, with butterflies flitting and giant colourful mushrooms sprouting spores of love gave the perfect illusion.

The packed audience on opening night were enchanted by the performance, and so was I. It was a pleasure and a delight, and I urge you to go and see it.

Until December 10. Call 01926 830 680 or visit lofttheatrecompany.com to book.