ShakespeaRe-Told (TV Mini Series) A Midsummer Night's Dream (2005) User Reviews

Entertaining

[pawebster · 8/10 · 18 January 2006]

This is an entertaining production, which is refreshing and well-acted. If you previously didn't go for the whimsy of Shakespeare's MSN, you may well find it much more accessible in this modern version set at a kind of holiday camp (Centerparcs meets Butlins, for British readers). There is some good acting (e.g. Puck), too.

On the downside, there are some dodgy, wandering accents, and Sharon Small (who is normally great as Havers in Inspector Linley) sadly seems to flit from American, to Estuary, to Scottish. Her overdone painted face does her no favours either.

I hope the BBC will do another series of modernized Shakespeare. For those who haven't seen them, "Much ado about nothing" from the first series is also very good, but my tip is to steer clear of "Macbeth" and "Taming of the Shrew".

A dream performance

[benbrae76 · 10/10 · 29 August 2006]

Having been brought up about 10 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, (the Bard's birthplace), I regularly frequented the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre there. Consequently I've always loved his works and viewed this performance with trepidation.

Not being a great fan of "upgrading" Shakespeare, even the thought of his words spoken in a 21st century setting makes me wince with pain. However this production dispelled my doubts. The modern lingo was beautifully scripted and gustily played. I must confess that "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is not one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, but I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful effort. It was chirpy, bright, extremely witty, and lost none of the flavour of the original. I think even old Will himself would have been proud of it. Well done everyone!

Shakespeare's Dream in 2005

[ffionammurphy-1 · 10/10 · 27 November 2006]

An utterly enchanting piece. Each and every character was portrayed exactly right, but with edgy modern personalities which made for fantastic viewing. The script was faultless and the same time effortless and light-hearted. The acting was first-class, as the actors understood the script perfectly and had no trouble in delivering it to the viewers.

However, the real stroke of genius was the audience interaction, especially when Puck dropped love juice onto the camera lens. This really helped in making the audience feel like they were right there in Dream Park with the warring couples and magical beings!