A Midsummer Night’s Dream brings arcane antics to Oxford

Enter a world of magic and mischief when Oxford Playhouse presents a bold, darker take on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream this spring 2026.

Shining candlelight on the shadowy underbelly of one of Shakespeare’s most-loved plays, Oxford Playhouse offers an imaginative retelling of the classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this spring.

Running from Tuesday 24th to Saturday 28th March 2026, audiences are invited into an enchanted forest where the natural world is upside down, the Fairy Queen Titania and King Oberon quarrel with dangerous intensity, and four young lovers fleeing the city become caught in a night of chaos. .

Following its run at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in London, this new production – by Headlong in partnership with Shakespeare’s Globe – brings a striking, contemporary vision to the classic tale.

Audiences can expect live music, inventive set and costume design, and engaging moments as the familiar comedy is reimagined through a darker, unsettling lens.

Directed by Holly Race Roughan and co-directed by Naeem Hayat, the cast — including Hedydd Dylan, Dannie Harris, Jack Humphrey, Lou Jackson, Pria Kalsi, Danny Kirrane, and Tiwa Lade — draws on experience from the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s Globe, and beyond to bring the forest’s lovers, mechanicals, and magical creatures to life.

Holly Race Roughan, said: “The world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a turbulent one, the natural environment is upside down and unpredictable, and the political and social landscape is on edge, creating a sense of tension that we are all experiencing today.

This new staging will explore some of the darker elements of Shakespeare’s well-known comedy, turning it on its head and asking us to reexamine its themes and subject matter.

Following a highly successful collaboration on Henry V, it is a joy to be partnering once again with Shakespeare’s Globe and our committed national partners to allow audiences to meet this play in the moment we are in.”

For more information or to book, visit Oxford Playhouse’s website.

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