The Fairies

 In the opening scene, Hippolyta, unhappy in her enforced relationship with Theseus, escapes into the dreamworld magic forest. 

Like many dreams this place is populated by people who have surrounded her in the real world, but they are changed; freed from their everyday constraints and inhibitions. 

• The tense and servile Philostrate becomes the naughty, lively Puck. 
• The workers or mechanicals who came to court in the first scene to repair a domestic problem in the cellar are transformed into the amateur actors ambitious for the Duke’s approval. 
• Three sullen and unhappy court ladies become the cheerful, curious fairies who attend Titania.
• Hippolyta herself becomes Titania, Queen of the Fairies, finds her voice and defies the demands of her husband.

Creating the Fairies

  As with the witches in Macbeth the ‘Dream Fairies’ have been interpreted in a great variety of ways, ranging from scary old men to stroppy, gum-chewing adolescents. 

Nor would the fairies in the original production have been depicted as gentle tutued ballerinas as most Elizabethans believed in fairies and appreciated that they came in all shapes and sizes; they also understood that fairies could be unpredictable and sometimes dangerous.

Watch Fairyland workshop

Having watched this, how do you imagine the fairies in our production being??

The first Fairies scene - Act 2 scene 1 

The scene comes soon after a similarly charged scene at court, with only the Mechanicals offering a comic interlude in between. 

Comparisons are often made between the world of the court and the world of the fairy kingdom, and between Theseus and Hippolyta, and Oberon and Titania. 

This is explored in this production with the actors doubling the parts: Titania being the alter ego of Hippolyta and Oberon the alter ego of Theseus. 

In a speech rich with imagery, Titania demonstrates how powerful she and Oberon are, and the effect they have on the fairy and mortal worlds. 

In 37 lines Titania describes the devastating impact their argument is having on the seasons and the natural world. 

In a second highly descriptive speech full of images, Titania explains how she acquired the boy at the heart of her battle with Oberon: a battle that is not resolved until the end of the play

Watch it HERE

Additional optional videos - if time watch these

The impact of The Fairies on the real world

Titania crosses Oberon