A Midsummer Night's Dream

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

A Wedding Eve with Poltergeist, Elves, and Goblins

A comedy by William Shakespeare, adapted by Michael Niavarani

Directors: Michael Niavarani & Helena Steele

Michael Niavarani does it again: After Richard III and Romeo & Julia, Shakespeare’s most famous comedy is now on stage – A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“You won’t believe what you see. Enchanted by magical demons, if you’re not careful, you might fall in love with your neighbor and no longer want to go home with your spouse. What’s going on? Simple: when lovers promise each other eternal desire and then constantly fall for someone else – that was Puck!” (Michael Niavarani)

In Michael Niavarani’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, things get eerie and magical: Puck, the poltergeist, is at work whenever lovers pledge eternal desire and then keep falling for someone else. And when Puck, who makes life difficult for us, distributes love hormones, it can happen that a woman rubs her eyes and asks, “Did I just sleep with a donkey?” Meanwhile, the Fairy Queen and the Fairy King argue over their adopted child, and the elements go haywire. Just like in real life. And when an untalented acting troupe rehearses the tragedy of “Pyramus and Thisbe” in the forest, it becomes unintentionally hilarious. A happy ending for all lovers is guaranteed.

Program and cast

ON STAGE

The High Society
HIPPOLYTA Ariana Schirasi-Fard
THESEUS Joachim Brandl
PHILOSTRAT Rafael Schuchter / John F. Kutil

The Betrothed / The Lovers
HERMIA Sophie Aujesky
HELENA Lisa Weidenmüller / Lisa-Lena Tritscher
LYSANDER Julian Loidl
DEMETRIUS Georg Leskovich

Those from the reality behind our reality
TITANIA, the Fairy Queen Sigrid Hauser
OBERON, the Fairy King, her husband Bernhard Murg
PUCK, a poltergeist, Oberon’s servant Julia Edtmeier

The Staff
PETRA SQUENZ (PROLOGUE) Katharina Dorian
NIKLAS ZETTEL (PYRAMUS) Michael Niavarani
MR. FLAUT (THISBE) Matthias Mamedof
MRS. SCHNAUZ (WALL) Magda Leeb
MR. SCHNOCK (LION) Stefan Altenhofer
MRS. SCHLAGER (MOON) Jenny Frankl
PUCK 2, 3, and 4 Nora Hackstock, Lena Prokop, Nikola Unterberger

The Elves
ape connection: Moritz König, Jan Raffael Löbl, Johannes Melnitzky, Michael Mölschl, Matthias Pazourek, Florian Polsterer, Svetozar Popovic, Michael Reiskopf, Raphael Rossi, Florian Rögner, Christof Sapper, Diana Scharbl, Alex Schauer, Hanna Tavolato, Nadine Valenta, Thomas Wolf

BEHIND THE STAGE
BOOK Michael Niavarani, Laurence Boswell
Based on William Shakespeare

TRANSLATION OF SHAKESPEARE QUOTES Frank Günther, Helena Steele, Jürgen Gosch, Angela Schanelec, Wolfgang Wiens, August Wilhelm Schlegel, Ludwig Tieck, Dorothea Tieck, Count von Baudissin

DIRECTORS Michael Niavarani & Helena Steele
COMPOSITIONS Johannes Glück
ARRANGEMENTS Christian Frank
COSTUME Inge Stolterfoht
COSTUME ASSISTANCE Rosa Dreher
DRESSERS Rosa Dreher, Annika Fuchs, Sophie Gruber, Julia Sailer, Hannah Schröckelsberger, Alea Siegele
MAKEUP Viktoria Carioli, Anna Maurer
EVENING MAKEUP Katrin Bohaty, Jacqueline Daume, Anna Maurer
SFX MAKEUP Gaby Grünwald
VICIOUS FX MAKEUP Valerie Rossacher, Georg Korpás
SET DESIGN Enid Löser
PROPS Silke Drack
LIGHT DESIGN Dominik Herout, Michael Sarsteiner
SOUND DESIGN Gabriel Körbler, Gerry Wimmer, Luca Zettl
STAGE TECH Florian Apfel, Sascha Dreindl, Sarah Kadlec
MOVEMENT ARTISTS ape connection
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT Andrea Kern, Helena Steele
MANAGING DIRECTORS Bojan Djukic, Benedict Steininger
PRODUCERS Georg Hoanzl & Michael Niavarani
PUBLISHER Schultz & Schirm Bühnenverlag

A production of NIAVARANI & HOANZL GmbH