Romantic, magical and hilarious Shakespeare production arrives on the stage in Leighton Buzzard

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which will be performed on June 29-30 and July 1, is one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays: romantic, magical and hilarious.

We are in Athens, where Hermia loves Lysander, but is told by her father that she has to marry Demetrius.

Hermia’s friend, Helena, adores Demetrius – but he only wants Hermia. Hermia and Lysander hatch a plan to escape into the forest. They tell Hermia’s best friend, Helena, their secret. But Helena is deeply in love with Demetrius, and will do anything to win his approval…

Demetrius sets off in pursuit of Hermia, with Helena trailing him. And it’s difficult to say what might have happened, had it not been for some mischievous folk of the magical forest kingdom, and a potent love-flower. A few drops squeezed into a sleeping eye, and its owner will love the first thing he or she sees – which is fine, as long as you get it right!

Add a group of enthusiastic but painfully bad amateur actors, intent on using the forest as a rehearsal space, and you have the perfect recipe for midsummer mayhem.

Leighton Buzzard Drama Group were very pleased to secure as guest director for this production Susan Sachon, Shakespearean scholar, author and director of many Shakespeare plays.

Susan said: “If I was asked to encapsulate the mood of this particular production in one word, it would be ‘joyful’. Of all Shakespeare’s plays, The Dream is perhaps the most hopeful story. From a disturbing start, in a world where a young woman can be condemned to death for not obeying a man, we arrive at the finale amid a more forgiving mood, and love, laughter and good-humoured entertainment are the order of the day. Perhaps that is the true magic at the heart of this story.”

You can fall under its spell at Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre on June 29, 30 or July 1, at 7.45 pm.

Tickets are £15 (including booking fee), £13 for concessions. Buy your tickets online via www.lbdg.org.uk or via the Library Theatre Box Office. For telephone bookings call 0300 300 8125. In-person bookings are available at the Library Theatre counter (second floor) on Tuesdays, 10am-3pm.