A Midsummer Night's Dream - Burgtheater Vienna

The night begins with a father's death threat against his daughter. This drives two couples into the Athenian forest, where they are enchanted by fairies whose genders cannot be categorized, causing each person to love another. There are also craftsmen in the forest rehearsing a tragedy, featuring a lion that one should not fear. Meanwhile, the fairy king and queen argue over an Indian boy, causing the rivers to overflow their banks... The 400-year-old past of Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM has much to tell us about our crisis-ridden present. The climate disasters of that time, the defense of patriarchal power systems against gender-fluid identities, and even trigger warnings in theater are all part of Shakespeare's most performed comedy. Yet, it is also a timeless piece about play and the power of transformation. In the Athenian forest, one person's dream becomes another's nightmare. Shakespeare conjures a nocturnal state of the soul in which people no longer trust their paths and begin to question feelings and certainties. They experience all forms of love and struggle with their language. At the end of the extravagant night of fantasies, the lovers awaken, embarrassed, from that "counter-world" of Athens. However, not all will be transformed back. The magic of theater continues hopefully.