Comedy based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream coming to the stage in Stewkley
A comedy based on William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream is coming to the stage in Stewkley later this month.
Midsummer Jersey is Stewkley Players’ 133rd production and will be performed at Stewkley Village Hall between Wednesday, March 25 and Saturday, March 28.
Midsummer Jersey is written by American playwright Ken Ludwig and is described as ‘the hilarious high-octane retelling of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream set on the boardwalk of a seaside town in modern-day New Jersey.’
The 16-strong cast – including me – have been rehearsing twice a week for just under three months in preparation for the show.
Explaining why she chose the play for the group producer Gill Morgan said: "I looked at the work of playwrights that I have produced before and reading Ken Ludwig’s Midsummer Jersey made me laugh.
"I liked the idea of bringing a Shakespeare-lite play to our stage and also the beach setting was tempting.
"As far as I can tell, this play has not been produced by an amateur dramatics group in the UK before.
"So while I wasn’t able to get production ideas from previous stagings, it gave Stewkley Players carte blanche to just run with it - and we have."
The story revolves around the impending marriage of the Governor of New Jersey, the love affairs of four beach-bound high school crushes, a lively crew of fairies and the staff of the local beauty salon.
Performances take place nightly at 8pm from March 25 to 28, with doors open and a licensed bar available from 7.30pm.
Tea, coffee, biscuits and ice-creams will be on sale during the interval, while there will also be a raffle with some great prizes.
Tickets are available for all four nights priced at £8.50 including a booking fee, and can be booked by visiting the Ticketsource website or by calling 0333 666 3366.
Stewkley Players is an amateur dramatics group that has been producing plays for the village and surrounding area since 1955.