The heroic Not Too Tame invited me to create the poster image (with a real Donkey) and shoot rehearsal and production shots for their riotous production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Matthew Dunster and Jimmy Fairhurst. It was the first Shakespearean inspired production to be staged on the Cockpit Theatre at the incredible Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, Merseyside.

I cannot stress this enough but I bloody love Jimmy Fairhurst, his NTT family and the tremendous work they do making theatre accessible to all; especially those who “don’t do theatre”. Always one of my favourite collaborations and the energy they bring is truly infectious. This particular production included deaf actor William Grint which required other cast members to learn sign language for the role. The action began for the audience before they were expecting, with cast and crew spilling into (and out) of the foyer before the start, adding an extra Inception layer to the play-within-a-play concept.

The production also featured the voice of BAFTA nominated actor David Morrissey as Oberon, and Mercury nominated singer-songwriter Nadine Shah making her theatre debut in the role of Titania. It picked up loads of top reviews and made good on its promise of a show that’s 'to be experienced, not just watched'. Their anarchic production of one of Shakespeare’s best loved plays was the first collaboration between Shakespeare North Playhouse, Not Too Tame and Northern Stage.

Cast:

Andrew Butler
Tyler Dobbs
Tia-Bella Easton
Jimmy Fairhurst
Kelise Gordon
William Grint
Louise Haggerty
Rebecca Hesketh Smith
Kate James
Yazmin Kayani
David Nellist
David Morrissey
“Brian” (If you know, you know)