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Tue 6 - Sun 11 May 2025
Tue - Sun at 19:30 | Wed, Sat, and Sun at 14:30
Tickets available from £18.43
York Stage and the Grand Opera House York unveil an enchanting collaboration, presenting a fresh interpretation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
In the mystical twilight of Midsummer’s Night, the realms of reality and fairy blur. Four youthful lovers, grappling with the prospect of a loveless union, flee the confines of Athens, wandering into an enchanted forest. Meanwhile, a troupe of aspiring actors rehearse a play to commemorate an impending royal wedding. As these unsuspecting mortals cross paths with the tumultuous clash of a fairy King and Queen, delightful chaos reigns in the natural world.
The lines between truth and magic begin to dissolve, leaving only the whimsical Puck privy to the secrets of what is real and what is spun from enchantment.
With live music, flying fairies and a rave in the woods this brand new production of arguably the Bard’s most well-known and much-loved Comedy is set to be truly magical.
Leading the company as the quarrelling King and Queen of the Fairies Oberon and Titania will be York actor Mark Holgate, who will be making his Grand Opera House debut, and one of the City’s favourite leading ladies Suzy Cooper, who performed alongside legendary Dame Berwick Kaler in his Panto’s across the city for over twenty years. Holgate and Cooper will also play Theseus and Hippolyta respectively.
Suzy Cooper most recently played Lady Macbeth in Macbeth and Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre at Blenheim Palace. She also played Mother in Damian Cruden’s acclaimed production of The Railway Children as part of its run at The Kings Cross Theatre. Previous screen credits include Eastenders and Casualty for the BBC.
Mark Holgate, who was born and raised in York, has had a wide ranging career. Previous Shakespearean roles include credits with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Cheek by Jowl, Sheffield Crucible and most recently at Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre in York where he played roles including Orsino in Twelfth Night and Banquo in Macbeth. Recent screen credits include BBC drama Floodlights, Doctors and ITV’s Emmerdale.
This new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set to relocate the action of Shakespeare’s famous comedy from the court of Athens to Athens Court, a Northern Council estate where magic is fuelled with mayhem, and the course of true love still doesn’t run smooth.
Grand Opera House York Opening Hours
Our Box Office is open 90 minutes prior to performances
For all other times, please book via: atgtickets.com/york
