A Midsummer Night's Dream, theatre review: Stark approach to Shakespeare's sour sexual politics

A Midsummer Night’s Dream doesn’t feel an obvious choice for a blustery February. But this is an unconventional take on Shakespeare’s comedy — darker than usual and radically alert to the sourness of its sexual politics.

Director Joe Hill-Gibbins often makes elaborate use of video, but here his approach is stark. There’s a giant mirror on the rear wall, to emphasise the play’s interest in reversals and distortions.

The rest of the stage is simply strewn with mud, and although the cast have suitable footwear they mostly discard it. As they slide around and get increasingly filthy, they look like revellers at the end of a bad music festival. You can’t help fearing for the wellbeing of the Young Vic’s wardrobe department.

The abundance of mud makes it impossible for the production to be nimble. It’s wilfully lacking in magic and enchantment. Instead the characters seem bogged down in their messy relationships. Of the lovers Jemima Rooper as Hermia best conveys what it’s like to be tormented by desire. Meanwhile Anastasia Hille doubles impressively as Hippolyta and Titania.

Yet on the whole it’s the artisans who make a keen impression. They’re far from being a source of sunny laughter, but their fidgety quirkiness compensates for the morose tone of so much of what’s around them. The standout is Leo Bill as Bottom, who manages to appear strangely innocent even as he channels the play’s true anarchic spirit.

Until April 1, Young Vic Theatre; youngvic.org