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Experience a Midsummer Night’s Stream with 60 Hour Shakespeare on Bank Holiday Monday

A Midsummer Night's Stream on 25 May 2020

On Bank Holiday Monday 25th May at 19:30BST, 60 Hour Shakespeare is pleased to present A Midsummer Night’s Stream, a new production of Shakespeare’s classic, rehearsed in only 60 hours, and streamed live from around the world to raise funds for No5 Young People.

Audiences are invited to enter a world of dreams, magic, and romance, as our cast of 18 brings this much-loved comedy to life, online! A feuding fairy King and Queen cross paths with four runaway lovers and a troupe of actors trying to rehearse a play with hilarious, but dark consequences!

Talking about the performance, Gavin Leigh, Director said: “60 Hour Shakespeare is proud to support No5 Young People with our production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I have seen the difference that counselling can make to someone’s life and the charity’s no-questions-asked approach to accessing their services helps them to reach young people in need. With the support of a world-wide cast, and a potentially global audience, we can raise enough money to make a big difference to a small charity.

This year’s production has moved from our annual, open-air, venue at Caversham Court Gardens, in Reading, to an online rehearsal and performance. The inspiration for 60 Hour Shakespeare was the rehearsal time that might have been available to actors in Shakespeare’s time. It can make the actors feel unbalanced and the performance feel real. This online performance is unlike theatre or film and that is unbalancing.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one way to introduce children to Shakespeare, and there will be an interval during the show, which is likely to have a running time of about 90 minutes. Shakespeare wrote some scenes of a sexual or violent nature, so parental guidance is advised.”

Talking about 60 Hour Shakespeare’s support, Carly Newman, Operations and Relationships Manager, said: “No5 love performing arts as a way to express emotion and take you to another place. I think we could all do with being transported to a Midsummer Night’s Stream from our very own armchair this bank holiday. Thank you to Gavin Leigh and all the cast for supporting No5 this year and moving the show to a virtual platform so we can still enjoy it.”

The performance is free to attend, and stream details will be sent prior to the show via email. Please register and help raise money for No5 Young People, a fantastic charity in Reading supporting young people’s mental health.

To Donate please visit:  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/aMidsummerNightsStream

Please book your virtual seat for this magical performance on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-midsummers-night-stream-tickets-102971723196

The run time is approximately 90 minutes with a 15-minute interval.

 

About 60 Hour Shakespeare:

60 Hour Shakespeare has been described as ‘a piece of theatrical bravura’. Its mild inspiration is the rehearsal time available to actors in Shakespeare’s time. Acting companies might have had only one rehearsal before a performance and performed as many as 40 times a year. Is ‘brevity the soul of wit?’

Our company performs with professional and amateur actors from around the world, who are cast from open auditions, to raise money for charity. Previous productions include Hamlet in 2019 and Much Ado About Nothing in 2018 which raised over £2000 for Macmillan Cancer Research and British Heart Foundation respectively.

 

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Your support through fundraising allows us to carry on supporting young people’s mental health.

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