A Midsummer Night's Dream

Dream News…

By Robyn, Sienna E and Jenna (Year 5)

Recently, Year 5 has performed an amazing classic written by William Shakespeare, and he even had a small part in this show! It was a fantastic musical, with strong characters and realistic settings. Full of Shakespearean language, banger songs and brilliant costumes, the school absolutely loved it!

Stretching across the dates of Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th of March, the audience were elated after viewing this spectacular performance. The play included many comical characters and hilarious scenes.

From fairies to lovers to a magical flower, it’s all about the love.

There’s still Nick Bottom with a donkey head and loads of tricks and schemes but this show was full of twists to make sure the audience enjoyed themselves. Everyone said ‘WOW’ afterwards because of all the excitement and fun. If you came to watch, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Props got this show on the road.

The play included lovers, fairies and mechanicals but whatever happened the course of true love never did run smooth.

The play was set partly in Athens and partly in the magic land of the fairies. Dreamweavers danced to beautiful songs - The Land of the Fairies, The Man of my Dreams and a few more (backhand springs included).

It was a magical dream that we loved so much.

Here’s the complex story of a Midsummer Night’s Dream….

Athens is all a-flutter for Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta’s wedding. However, excitement is not particularly felt by Hermia who is in love with Lysander - but her mum Egeus, does not like the match. She wants Hermia to marry Demetrius, and, if she refuses to wed him, a sentence of death will befall her.

So, Lysander hatches a plan to run away to the wood nearby, but now Helena is upset! Demetrius used to love her, but ever since fancying Hermia, has betrayed and switched to Hermia. When told about Hermia and Lysander’s plan, Helena tells Demetrius, hoping that he will thank her, and be a kinder man.

But, in the wood, Oberon and Titania, the royalty of the fairy kingdom, are fighting. Oberon hatches a plan and sends his servant Puck on a mission to find a magic flower. Puck anoints Titania’s eyes so that the next thing she espies she shall pursue with the soul of love.

Elsewhere, the actor Nick Bottom has been transformed into a comical beast - a donkey! - by the mischievous Puck. Unluckily for Titania, as soon as she awakes, the first thing she lays her eyes on is… Nick Bottom the donkey! Puck’s plan for Titania to woo the donkey had come true in a crazy, crazy dream and Titania had no idea!

Oberon goes invisible to overhear a conference between Helena and Demetrius. After deciding that Helena deserves better, he sends Puck to bewitch Demetrius into loving her. Sadly, Puck gets the wrong Athenian and there is chaos because the love rectangle is a stressy, messy tangle.

Puck restores the lovers, so now all's put right and we will dance till dawn shines bright!

WHAT A LOVELY MIDSUMMER NIGHT!

Thank you to Robyn, Sienna E and Jenna (Year 5 students) for producing this document.

Characters

All parts were played by different people in Year 5. Boys sometimes played girls and girls sometimes played boys.

Duke Theseus
Queen Hippolyta
Egeus
Hermia
Demetrius
Lysander
Helena
Quince
Nick Bottom
Francis Flute
Robin Starveling
Snug
Tom Snout
King Oberon
Queen Titania
Cobweb
Moth
Mustardseed
Puck

The play was performed by Year 5 Aldrington Primary School in March 2025. Rehearsing for this play took over fifteen hours. Roles in this play were shared by many different people. In total the play was performed twice, each performance just under an hour. Everyone who wanted to speak had a chance to perform.