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Title details for A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare - Available

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A BBC Radio Shakespeare production

by William Shakespeare
Becky Simpson
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

In this BBC full-cast production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena run to the woods and stumble into a life separate from time itself.
Fairy magic wreaks havoc and midsummer madness takes over as lovers tread the delicate line between fantasy and reality.
Sylvestra le Touzel stars as Titania in this delightful comic fantasy, with Samuel West as Lysander, David Threlfall as Theseus, Richard Griffiths as Bottom and Becky Simpson as Puck.
BBC radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly-formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard.
In this acclaimed BBC Radio Shakespeare series, each play is introduced by Richard Eyre, former Director of the Royal National Theatre. Revitalised, original and comprehensive, this is Shakespeare for the modern day.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 1, 2004

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781405697583
      • File size: 64081 KB
      • Duration: 02:13:30

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 800
    • Text Difficulty: 3-4

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 2, 1996
      Coville follows up his version of The Tempest (see p. 84) with a retelling of another of Shakespeare's most popular plays. The fundamental story of magic, mischief and the trials and tribulations of love is preserved through well-chosen use of the original language and Coville's heady prose ("The queen... saw the ass-headed monstrosity through magic-drenched eyes"). Major plot lines are clearly and concisely rendered, but it is the portrayal of the various levels of humor-from Bottom's buffoonery to Puck's gleeful magic-making-that really captures the essence of the play. Nolan's (Dinosaur Dream) sumptuous, painterly watercolors highlight the theatrical setting of the spellbound wood. Gnarled, mossy trees provide the backdrop for a cast of unusually youthful lovers, gossamer-winged fairies (which nod at Rackham's famous interpretations) and a truly puckish Puck. A first-rate entree to the Bard. Ages 7-up.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A narrator helps compress the action of Shakespeare's charming comedy into less than an hour, telling us what's occurring and then letting the characters give us their better-known scenes. The program, "from the archives of CBC Radio," has a copyright of 2003, but judging by the acting (Hermia reminds one more of Virginia Mayo than Judi Dench) and music (composed for this program, and quite enjoyable), it was recorded in the early '50s at the latest. Still, the acting runs from adequate to excellent, and the narration is polished; the whole will make a pleasant, if abbreviated, version of the play for those who find its age quaint rather than off-putting. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM is a difficult play to follow in audio only. Many of the scenes, especially those involving Bottom and his motley troupe of actors, rely heavily on their visual elements. This Arkangel production does include some interesting voices, however. Most notably, Oberon and Titania are played by black actors David Harewood and Adjoa Andoh, whose accents--Jamaican and West African, respectively--give a refreshing texture to the fairy scenes. It's too bad some of those same scenes are undone by lame echo effects that are not only cloying, but at times make the lines difficult to hear. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      There are few puckish pleasures greater than listening to one of the Bard's great performances. Paul Scofield is easy to listen to in his portrayal of the fairy prince Oberon, his being one of the greatest living classical voices in English. Yet his performance is missing the inspiration one would expect. Likewise, none of the other performers on this unabridged recording are particularly inspired. Pedestrian readings and background noise make this a serviceable but disappointing trip into Shakespeare's romantic dreamscape. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      This newest version of Shakespeare's midsummer romp is a most wonderful addition. Uncut and fully dramatized, it transports us deftly from the wedding of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, into the bewildering confusions of the night forest, where magic and mischief abound. The forest where Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius finally are betrothed bewitches us with its array of night sounds, and the fairy world is easily identified by the soft electronic echo in the voices of Oberon, Titania and Puck. But what really distinguishes Arkangel's production is the masterful performances of the whole cast. Maybe we have, as Puck would have us believe, "but slumb'red here/while these visions did appear." P.E.F. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:800
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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