"A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Nottingham Shakespeare Company
Various locations.

Shakespeare wrote his plays to be performed in the open air so this new company have decided to do just that , perform the Bard's plays in the open air in various Nottingham locations. This isn't a new thing but it's so much fun to be out in the fresh air and to take in the beauty of Shakespeare's works.

This company really do do this for the love of it as they don't get paid and there's no charge to see them perform, although the cast do come round afterwards for any donations you may want to give. This is just to cover the materials and costumes that they have sourced for their shows.So please give as generously as you can.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is one of my favourites so when I knew about this free outdoor presentation, I was there straight away.

This cast of twelve, plus Meg Yearsley (Moonshine's Dog) have a wonderful way of bringing the audience in with their energetic performance and bring out the full comedy element of Shakespeare's script, with some extra music bits thrown in.

There's a fallacy that Shakespeare is still for the elitist audience but NSC go a long way to smashing this idea by bringing it to the people at ground level in a way that everyone can understand, so don't be afraid that you won't be able to understand the Bard's words.

Graham Johnson, David Watts, Sarah Marshall, Lottie Martin, Frances White, Dwight Pritchett. Michelle-Louise Wright, Cat Prescott, Tom Salyers, Katrin Salyers, Jack Linley and Jeremy Goldsmith create a world that, with just a little imagination, will transport you to a magical kingdom with some very interesting characters.

As previously mentioned there's music involved and dancing, choreographed by Verity Dunbold; the music you'll know for sure!

The shows last only ninety minutes but seems a lot shorter than that because, whether you know the story or not, you'll find your self enraptured by this production and cast.

You can see the rest of the mini outdoor tour at these sites....

Thurs 11th July 7pm Highfields Park nr D H Lawrence Pavillion

Fri 12th July 7pm Cobden Chambers, Pelham Street

Sat 13th July 1pm Queens Walk Recreation Ground

Sat 13th July 7pm Robin Hood Statue

Some of these sites may not have spaces for you to sit, so why not take a cushion or portable seat for comfort, and if the weather is fine, make an event of it and take a picnic.

Shakespeare in the sun, just the way the Bard would have loved it to have been performed.