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Could anything be more idyllic than this? On a hot summer evening, with the sun slowly sinking behind the wall of Lincoln Castle, and a backdrop of the beautiful south side of the Cathedral, to watch while Shakespeare’s two pairs of lovers fall prey to the playfulness and magical powers of the forest’s fairy people? The sheer inventiveness, the romance, the foibles of both humans and fairies, and of course the comedy are the spellbinding ingredients of this great piece of theatre.
How does it all begin? Theseus, Duke of Athens, is about to marry Hippolyta. Egeus brings his daughter Hermia to court. She and Lysander want to get married, but the dominant Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius, who also wants her. Under Athenian law, Hermia must marry. the man of her father's choice, become a nun, or be executed. Theseus gives everyone a few days to decide. Demetrius has seduced and abandoned Helena, Hermia's friend. Lysander and Hermia decide to elope and flee to the woods. Hermia tells Helena, who then tells Demetrius in order to ingratiate herself to him. Demetrius follows the lovers, and Helena follows him. Meanwhile, a group of local craftsmen, who also fancy themselves as actors, is preparing a play to perform at the royal wedding.
Out in the forest, Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies have quarrelled. Oberon sends Puck to find a magic flower which, when applied to a sleeper's eyes, will make the sleeper fall in love with whoever he or she sees first upon awakening. Puck brings the flower, and Oberon applies it to the eyes of sleeping Titania, hoping to win back her love. Oberon then tells Puck to apply it to the eyes of Demetrius, so that when he wakes and sees Helena he will love her instead. And who will they actually see when they wake ….?
We know that we can rely on the LSC as usual to make this great comedy easy to follow (in spite of the weaving plot!), accessible to all including the quite young, and of course highly enjoyable and stimulating.
The play will be directed by the LSC’s most experienced director, Rob Smith. Rob said, ‘this is a truly wonderful play - full of originality, inventiveness, and fantastic characters, but its greatest quality is the comedy. Be prepared for an exciting and hilarious evening of theatre.’
The play opens for a ten-night run at the Medieval Bishops’ Palace on Lincoln from July 25th until August 5th (excluding Thursdays). All performances start at 7.30pm. Tickets are priced at £9 and £6-50 concessions. Lincoln ticket outlets are the Medieval Bishops Palace (01522 527 468), Goodies Sweet Shop in The Strait, Lincoln (01522 525307), The Whisky Shop, Bailgate, Lincoln (01522 537834) and online at www.littleboxoffice.com.
[Press contact: for more information phone Pete Came, 07734 211 009 and 01522 538 220.
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