"Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends." (5,1)

Using a unique cast of experienced actors and opera singers, the acclaimed British director Steve Ellery's enchanting production of A Mid-Summer Night's Dream employs speech, song, music and movement to transform the poetry of William Shakespeare into a dream-landscape for the public.

The world of dream is free from time and space. The pure style of the piece functions with a bare minimum of set and props, the costumes don't confine the characters to a particular epoch, the characters and their playing-space are flexible and easily adaptable. Whether in a theatre, in the open-air, in a palace, a castle, at a festival or city "event", this production of The Dream is always original and tailor-made according to the needs of any audience in any given playing-space.

Following the Elisabethan tradition, this production is based upon the actor and the text. The Berliner Shakespeare Ensemble remains true to this tradition without being either self-righteous or old-fashioned. Steve Ellery, who studied classical European theatre as an actor and director at the world-famous Drama Centre London, founded the Berliner Shakespeare Ensemble as a bi-lingual theatre company, so that The Dream is available to the public in the original English, as well as in German translation.

Nothing is forced or imposed in this production of A Mid-Summer Night's Dream. Likewise, the comedy is not silly or sentimental, but springs naturally from the passionate acting of the players and singers, who are inspired and animated by Shakespeare's magnificent poetry. Dive into the magical world of this Dream and let yourself be transported by Shakespeare's poetry and the music of the acclaimed composer Jörg Remy, which was especially commissioned for this production.

A Mid-Summer Night's Dream was presented by the Berliner Shakespeare Ensemble on 13th and 14th August, 2010 at the Ribbecker Sommernacht festival, at three site-specific locations, both indoor and outdoor, each sold-out show playing to over 800 festival-goers.

"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumb'red here
While these visions did appear." (5,1)