D&B adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream announced for next month

A new drum & bass-influenced adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is set to debut at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre next month.

Directed by Stef O’Driscoll, the adaptation aims to celebrate Manchester’s long-standing connection to rave and electronic music culture, and will take in a soundtrack producer by local drum & bass producer SALO. The artist will also be taking on the role of the Moon, who overlooks the play’s action from above, in the production.

While Shakespeare’s original is set in Athens, O’Driscoll’s version is based in current Manchester. A nightclub will be used as the story’s backdrop, while four seasoned ravers will take up the mantle of the play’s protagonists, in contrast to Shakespeare’s four young Athenians.

“I’ve had some of the best nights out here in Manchester, with the music of talented local artists serving as the soundtrack through messy heartaches, painful unrequited love to that new fizzy kind of love,” O’Driscoll said in a statement about her production. “Blending the worlds of Shakespeare and Manchester’s current rave scene, I wanted to celebrate that music in this production and highlight Manchester’s many gifted artists, rappers, and MCs alongside Shakespeare.”

The play will be presented at the Royal Exchange Theatre between 10th September and 12th October. Tickets are priced at £10 and can be purchased here.