A Midsummer Night's Dream

Arkangel Shakespeare

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Amanda Root, David Harewood, Roy Hudd

Shakespeare's most imaginative and merry play is set in an enchanted wood amidst fairies and sprites.

When Oberon, King of the Fairies, uses his magic upon four runaway lovers in a midsummer wood outside Athens, chaos ensues. Who really loves whom? Meanwhile, a band of well-meaning but bungling local actors have their rehearsal sabotaged by the mischievous Puck, who bewitches their leader, Bottom, and Titania, the Fairy Queen. The result is a lively and anarchic comedy that can only be resolved by an elaborate disentangling of spells.

Hermia is played by Amanda Root, Oberon by David Harewood, and Bottom by Roy Hudd.

Public Domain (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

Delightful performance

The dramatization was well done with distinct voices and musical cues, and I especially enjoyed the Jamaican accents for Oberon and Titania. Thoroughly enjoyable listen.

I loved it! So funny.

This was a pleasure to listen to! This play overall is hilarious, and the actors did a fantastic job. I will definitely listen to it again sometime.

Shakespeare Comes Alive!

Arkangel always delivers wonderful Shakespeare performances! I was hesitant starting this one because of the reviews criticizing some of the non-European accents used in the performance, but I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! I strongly disagree with the negative reviews. I thought the diverse accents were great and gave the performance a unique twist. I also disagree that they sounded fake or were offensive in some way. I thought they sounded realistic and I enjoyed the diversity of the cast. And as always, I enjoyed the sound effects. They really help you visualize what's happening. Overall another great take on Shakespeare from Arkangel.

A great performance of a Shakespeare favorite

A Midsummer's Night Dream has more physical comedy than most of Shakespeare's plays, and you're missing out if you don't see Oberon and Titania and the rest of the fairy court, so I wasn't sure how enjoyable this purely audio presentation would be. But it's a delight. Oberon and Titania are otherworldly, and sound effects make it clear what's going on to make up for the lack of visual cues.

This is a comedy about two pairs of youths, one in love and the other couple both in unrequited love. Their flight into the fairy woods, a well-intentioned fairy king (and a not so well-intentioned Puck), a troop of actors, and a quarreling fairy royal couple, all collide in a funny, magical fantasy that gets untangled with a happy ending, unlike Shakespeare's other famous play about star-crossed lovers.

Definitely a great way to experience this play, although still better on stage.

Shakespeare's classic done well

Would you consider the audio edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream to be better than the print version?

Performances of Shakespeare are always preferable to print because the actors and interpretation bring life to the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Midsummer Night's Dream?

I love the Rude Mechanicals both rehearsing and doing their play, and I really enjoy the ending scene with the blessing of the house and Puck's goodbye.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Oberon and Titania were my favorites here, and I love the added layer of the Jamaican accents for the characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh. It's a comedy!

Any additional comments?

This is Shakespeare well done, and I thought the audio effects contributed nicely including the music. I did think that sometimes the background noises and music were a bit too loud. If there were a little better balance it would have be easier to focus on the language of the play itself.

Fantastic

A fantastic audio version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. A great way to experience Shakespeare. I laughed aloud!

Very good but the bird

This was very good but the bird sound throughout was distracting at times. Still recommend.

Very fun listen.

The performance was very lively and captivating. I enjoyed the diversity of voices as well.

Well-Acted

I think that most Shakespeare fans will enjoy this presentation. The acting is great. I especially like the novel idea of having the fairies use exotic Jamaican accents. That and the strange bird calls made the fairy world ultra mysterious.

Great, refreshing take.

A well-acted, well-produced version of one of Shakespeare's absolutely finest works. My only real problem with it, is the same as with all Arkangel Shakespeare productions I've listened to: The scene/act-ending music is typically a bit too loud. It's always good music, but can come as a bit of a shock if you're not prepared. That's the only reason why the Overall rating can't be a 5. It's a production problem, and in no way reflects poorly on the story or performance.

In contrast to a few reviews that almost made me not purchase this version, I think the accents used by Titania (Jamaican), Oberon (sub-Sahara west-African (not Jamaican, as the aforementioned reviewers wrote)) and Robin Goodfellow (switches at will, as the trickster he is) are a breath of fresh air. These are meant to be ancient beings who transcend human borders - calling themselves our parents. The play itself takes place in present day Greece, and has an Amazon woman (by all accounts, the Amazons would be from present day Turkey/Iran), Titania has just returned from India... Why would the fairies necessarily speak in a British accent?

Take it for what it is; a great classic take on A Midsummer Night's Dream, with a few artistic liberties taken. Great stuff as always, from Arkangel.