Photos: Figure Return To London's Opera Holland Park With A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

This summer, sensational historical performance ensemble Figure return to London's Opera Holland Park after the success of their fantastically detailed (The Guardian) 2022 performance of Handel's Serse with a fresh staging of Shakespeare's classic comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Unbridled desire meets magic as Figure stages Shakespeare's celebrated play, accompanied by Mendelssohn's enchanting orchestral score. See photos from the production.

Figure's performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream will feature Mendelssohn's famous incidental music. After reading the play as a teenager, Mendelssohn wrote the extended 'Overture', followed by numbers such as the 'Wedding March' which have now become synonymous with Shakespeare's classic and are known worldwide. In the late-nineteenth century, performances in England and Germany that didn't use some or all of Mendelssohn's music became the exception rather than the rule. Reuniting the play with this glorious music, Figure's musicians will be playing instruments modelled on those from Mendelssohn's time, including the rarely heard ophicleide.

As Midsummer's Eve approaches, four young lovers and a troupe of am-dram artisans venture deep into the woods, but little do they know about the amorous antics about to ensue... In the enchanted forest, fairies rule and mischief-maker Puck is on hand to ensure the course of true love is anything but smooth. With trickery, havoc, and chaos afoot, it isn't long until love triangles, mistaken identities and magical transformations begin to unfold.

Figure founder and musical director Frederick Waxman comments, A Midsummer Night's Dream is an evergreen story of love triumphing over adversity - accompanied by Mendelssohn's magical score, there could not be a better setting than Opera Holland Park at midsummer. We want to bring our work to as many people as possible - through accessibly-priced tickets and working with children at Theatre Peckham. Inspired by the work of Simon McBurney with Complicité and Crystal Pite with Kidd Pivot, this very physical production will capture the life-affirming joy of the story and the music.

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