Outdoor A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Launches The East London Shakespeare Festival

New festival East London Shakespeare Festival launches this summer with an outdoor A Midsummer Night's Dream, July 1st - August 1st in Waltham Forest & Wanstead.

The East London Shakespeare Festival is a new festival and theatre event merging the contemporary culture of East London with the wonderful storytelling of Shakespeare's plays in outdoor parks and community spaces across East London.

Supported by Arts Council England, ELSF is launching with its inaugural production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, a riotous outdoor production of Shakespeare's most famous play, combining the wonderful storytelling of the Bard with a flavour of East London culture. Pure, unadulterated escapism, with live music, showstopper numbers in lovely outdoor settings.

This is not traditional outdoor Shakespeare - it is performed in non-theatrical community spaces, with community at its heart, seeking inspiration from the diverse cultures of East London.

ELSF aims to bring communities together in a joyful way following a period of isolation, giving some much-needed cultural respite in 'safe' outdoor settings. With lots of participatory opportunities for local communities to get involved in.

A festival feel will be encouraged with gates opening an hour before the show, pre-show workshops, including flower and fairy garland-making and BYO picnics and the audience might even spot the odd festival fairy wandering around!

At each venue, the production will feature a community ensemble of local residents and is partnering with local performing arts college Big Creative and Leyton Orient Trust to provide placements and offer behind- the-scenes insight, support with creative career options & new skills for their students. There are Pay-What-You-Can performances & school matinees.

The show is directed by Katherine Hare (International Associate Director on Tina the Musical, Resident Director on Bat Out of Hell (Dominion Theatre) and Sunny Afternoon (The Harold Pinter Theatre)). The producers (and co-directors of the festival) are Ursula Early and Rosie Ward. Movement direction is by Sundeep Saini (credits), and the designer is George Alexander (credits).

The ELSF has previously produced 2 Metres to Shakespeare, a COVID-safe live production during the pandemic; Behind Closed Doors Shakespeare as part of Waltham Forests' Virtual Programme of Culture; and Response Project, a community-led response to Behind Closed Doors.

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