A Midsummer Night's Dream: Get to the Bottom of Love

Auckland Theatre Company
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM - MEDIA RELEASE

Get to the Bottom of Love in 90 Minutes of Fast And Furious Fun

Raymond Hawthorne, one of New Zealand's most prestigious theatre actors and directors, will shortly tread the boards as none other than Shakespeare's famously mischievous goblin, Puck, in Auckland Theatre Company's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM which opens at the Maidment Theatre on Saturday 5 May.

The father daughter duo of Stuart Devenie and Laurel Devenie will also being appearing onstage together for the first time in a professional production.

The 18 strong cast boasts many leading names in New Zealand theatre including Brooke Williams, Andrew Grainger, Rima Te Wiata, Alison Bruce and Peter Daube.

The production will feature original music by John Gibson, played live by musician Brett Adams, guitarist for Tim Finn.

Shakespeare's light-hearted comedy of mistaken identity is a wildfire affair.

On an enchanted summer's evening, four young lovers find themselves entangled in a bewildering game of lust and longing.

In a magical forest a powerful fairy king and queen are at war and nothing is quite as it seems: a mischievous goblin wreaks havoc, confusion reigns and love conquers all.

Auckland Theatre Company's lavish production of Shakespeare's best loved comedy promises to be 'the dream' as you have never seen it before.

"The DREAM perfectly embodies our season theme of encounters. Mortals, mechanicals and fairies have their lives and passions thoroughly mixed up as they venture 'into the woods'; a magical, mysterious place of mayhem and excitement!" says Colin McColl, ATC's artistic director.

Widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist, William Shakespeare was born in 1564 at Stratford-upon-Avon and died in 1616. His surviving works include 38 plays and 154 sonnets. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Between 1585 and 1592, Shakespeare began a successful career in London as an actor, writer and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. The first recorded works of Shakespeare are RICHARD III and the three parts of HENRY VI, written in the early 1590s.

Few records of his private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs and whether the works attributed to him were written by others. Though revered as a playwright in his own time, Shakespeare's reputation did not rise to its present heights until the 19th century.

Tickets for A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM can be purchased from the Maidment Theatre, 09 308 2383 or www.atc.co.nz.

ENDS

Production Information

THE LION FOUNDATION SEASON OF A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
By William Shakespeare

3 May - 26 May
Maidment Theatre

FULL CAST:
Theseus/Fairy Peter Daube
Bottom Andrew Grainger
Puck Raymond Hawthorne
Helena Laurel Devenie
Titania Alison Bruce
Hermia Brooke Williams
Egeus Stuart Devenie
Demetrius Jono Kenyon
Mechanical/Fairy Brett O'Gorman
Mechanical/Fairy Rob Mokaraka
Peter Quince/Fairy Rima Te Wiata
Hyppolyta/Fairy Goretti Chadwick
Lysander Josh McKenzie
Oberon Xavier Horan
Snug Italia Hunt
Starvling Aisea Aholelei Latu
Arlo Gibson
Musician Brett Adams

Creative team:
Colin McColl & Ben Crowder - Direction
Tony Rabbit - Set Design & Lighting Design
Nic Smillie - Costume Design
John Gibson - Sound Design

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