Sleepless -a Midsummer Night-s Dream- [ Recommended ● ]

(the tall, desperate foil) becomes the play’s unwilling prophet of exhaustion. Her monologue to Hermia— "We, Hermia, like two artificial gods" —is stripped of nostalgia. She speaks it while pacing a geometric grid on the stage floor, counting her steps, trying to impose order on the chaos. She is no longer jealous of Hermia’s beauty; she is jealous of Hermia’s ability to hallucinate a way out.

Bottom himself is the most tragic figure. His famous confidence ("I will roar that I will do any man’s heart good to hear me") is not comedy here. It is the manic grandiosity of sleep deprivation. He believes he can play every part because his sense of self has fragmented. The ass’s head is not a punishment; it is a physical manifestation of how he sees himself—a beast trying desperately to recite poetry. SLEEPLESS -A Midsummer Night-s Dream-

If you have the chance to see this production—go. Bring coffee. Bring a friend to hold your hand. And do not, under any circumstances, close your eyes. (the tall, desperate foil) becomes the play’s unwilling