Modern setting brings politics and rave culture to Shakespeare’s woods
The final show of the current season at Chichester Festival Theatre reimagines A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a distinctly local story, set among the Downs and the town’s political life in the early 1990s. The production deliberately places the action in 1994, using the period to contrast conservative local politics with the hedonism of the fairy world.
The staging frames the human characters as figures within local Conservative politics, and the younger players as members of the Young Conservatives preparing a play for the wedding of a local MP, Theseus. Meanwhile the fairies are cast as ravers on the Downs, indulging in the trappings of youth culture. As the review notes,
"it is 1994, we’re in Sussex"— a direct choice that shapes costume, music and the production’s comic take on social divides.
The production’s strongest elements, by accounts from the opening, are its comic strands and the physical energy of the ensemble. The mechanicals remain central to the humour: Munya Chawawa’s Bottom is singled out as an excellent comic performance, with clear diction and strong projection that suits the theatre’s barn-like auditorium. Shane David-Joseph’s Puck provides nimble physicality and audience interaction, while the mechanicals double as fairy ravers in several sequences.
- Setting: 1994, Sussex/Chichester/Downs
- Production style: concept-led, politically inflected
- Notable performances: Munya Chawawa (Bottom), Shane David-Joseph (Puck)
Principal casting among the lovers and fairy royalty was also highlighted. Angela Sant’Albano plays a pink-clad Hermia in a same-sex relationship with a gender-switched Lysanda, a choice that the reviewer found made the woods’ confusions easier to follow. David Sturzaker appears as a world-weary Oberon and Eve Ponsonby as a grizzled Titania; their dispute over a changeling boy — played by Gavin Rasmussen, who also performs Philostrate — drives the central action.
| Role | Performer |
|---|---|
| Chief Constable Egeus | Henry Everett |
| Hermia | Angela Sant’Albano |
| Oberon | David Sturzaker |
| Titania | Eve Ponsonby |
| Changeling / Philostrate | Gavin Rasmussen |
| Bottom | Munya Chawawa |
| Puck | Shane David-Joseph |
Reviewers find that, while some of the verse speaking lacks vigour at times, the production compensates with clear comic timing and audience engagement. The choreography of the fairy ravers is frequently praised for its energy, though a note is struck that some of the dancing sequences may be a touch repetitive across the performance.
For Chichester audiences the piece offers a recognisably local flavour: by anchoring Shakespeare’s fantasia in a specific place and period on the South Downs, the company invites viewers to see the play’s jealousies and misapprehensions through a modern, regional lens. That approach will appeal to locals who value theatre that reflects the city’s landscape and civic life, while theatre-goers looking for a traditional, text-forward Shakespeare may find the concept-heavy staging a less comfortable fit.
Either way, the production underscores Chichester Festival Theatre’s continuing role as a site for ambitious and topical programming. With a cast mixing established stage performers and high-profile comedic talent, the show is likely to draw audiences from across the region for a season finale built on spectacle, satire and the old play’s enduring capacity to be reshaped.
Performances run at Chichester Festival Theatre; audiences and prospective ticket-holders should consult the theatre’s schedule for dates and availability.
