A Midsummer Night's Dream

British Touring Shakespeare and Soulton Hall are thrilled to announce a unique theatrical experience this summer with a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Hall's historic Epidaurus Court. 

This unique 16th-century performance space, which we know has not been used for theatrical performances since at least 1783, will be brought back to life, offering audiences a rare opportunity to witness Shakespeare as it might have been performed centuries ago. This marks the first time in hundreds of years that the normally private Epidaurus Court will be used in this authentic Renaissance manner.

The choice of A Midsummer Night's Dream is particularly significant given Soulton Hall's rich history and literary connections. Old Sir Rowland Hill, whose extraordinary Renaissance vision shaped Soulton Hall, was fascinated by the classical allure of Eleusis, near Athens, and encoded that into the configuration of the precincts. The Ancient Telesterion of Greece and the boundaries of the Renaissance complex at Soulton are both 55 yards square. Shakespeare shared that obsession and echoed it in the play's references to Demetrius and Helena's journey to a location near Athens associated with ancient mysteries:

A good persuasion, therefore hear me, Hermia. I have a widow aunt, a dowager Of great revenue, and she hath no child. From Athens is her house remote seven leagues, And she respects me as her only son. There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee, And to that place the sharp Athenian law Cannot pursue us. - Lysander, Act 1 Scene 1

The play's setting, with its exploration of love, magic, and the natural world, finds a fitting home within the Tudor grounds of Soulton Hall.

Furthermore, A Midsummer Night's Dream features a concluding dance of eight characters in Theseus's Hall, a tantalizing nod to the famous dance for eight in As You Like It, a play so closely linked to Soulton through Thomas Lodge Jr., whose Rosalynde served as Shakespeare's source material. This connection is further strengthened by Old Sir Rowland Hill's cousinhood with Shakespeare's mother and the presence of the historic dancing pavement at Soulton. Sir Rowland Hill has been identified as the inspiration for Old Sir Rowland in As You Like It.

The performance will naturally feature the four couples central to the play – Theseus and Hippolyta, Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helena, and Oberon and Titania – celebrating their unions in a harmonious dance that mirrors the reconciliation and restoration of order explored in As You Like It.

This immersive theatrical event promises to be a highlight of the summer season, offering a unique blend of history, literature, and performance within the captivating setting of Soulton Hall. Audiences will be transported back in time to experience Shakespeare in a way that resonates with the Hall's own fascinating past.