A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Stoke Newington

Abney Park Cemetery is soon to host a magical re-imagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, as part of the Stoke Newington Shakespeare Festival.

A graveyard may be an unlikely site for theatre, but as locals will attest, Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington has all the romantic charm to make it the ideal setting for almost any cultural endeavour.

The Stoke Newington Shakespeare Festival kicked off in June with a production of Measure for Measure in the Lion Pub, a fresh, modern interpretation which was warmly received.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to run in the cemetery between 12 and 31 July, promises to be mischievous and mystical. After a number of successful smaller-scale productions, the Dream is ROAR’s most ambitious project yet.

Established in 2010 by Bryony Hope and Eleanor Wyld in response to a lack of theatrical offerings in the area, locally-based ROAR is rapidly catching the imagination of theatre-goers in Stoke Newington and beyond.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is performed and directed by recent graduates of Guildhall School of Music and Drama and directed by Owen Lewis.

Artistic Director Bryony Hope explains the idea behind the production: “Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the spirit world, invite theatre-goers into the cemetery to discover a magical promenade production the classic play. Enticed down wooded paths, those who attend the performance will happen upon young lovers arguing amongst the trees, find Mechanicals rehearsing in a clearing under the Duke’s Oak and stumble upon Titania’s ghostly bower, hidden in the greenery.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is organised by ROAR Theatre and supported by the Abney Park Trust.

Till 31 July, Thurs – Mon  7:30pm
Abney Park Cemetery