St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Black artist and creative Tre G, is certainly not your typical Shakespearean experience.
The production wheels you in from start to finish with its contemporary approach and relatable Black culture inclusion of African American Vernacular English [AAVE], modern dance, and afrofuturistic costumes designed and styled by fashion designer Brandin Vaughn.
Tre G also wrote the original music, which infuses gospel, house, R&B, and pop.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is staged at the corner of 14th Avenue and 14th Street in the heart of the Old North neighborhood. The location is among the 24 parks or gathering spots the Shakespeare Festival will visit during its TourCo run, which began last year.
The tour brings productions to areas, urban and rural, that do not offer ready access to theater arts.
“Most people know us for Shakespeare in the Park in Forest Park, it’s a beautiful place to see a play. With TourCo we want to take Shakespeare out into the neighborhood, in our communities where people are hanging out,” Tom Ridgley, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival production director told HEC Happening Now.
A cast of six, including women and nonbinary actors, joins in the performance which trails three storylines. The show details relationships between two couples. The characters celebrate the Duke’s marriage to the Amazonian Queen, and the King and Queen’s romantic quarrel.
Tre G told Jeremy Goodwin of St. Louis Public Radio that he chose the actors portraying the characters to be perceived “in an androgynous sort of way.”
“What if we took gender and gender norms out of the equation, and we just saw these people as humans and just the beings that they are? How would we experience love in a new way? How would we experience relationships in a new way?” he said.
Tielere Cheatem, Rae Davis, Ricki Franklin, Asha Futterman, Mel McCray, and Christina Yancy bring their own flavor to the performance, which is hilarious, magical, full of life, and chaotic.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” reinterpretation offers a unique twist on a vintage tale, which highlights what might have been if Shakespeare utilized the voices of Black and queer characters in his works.
“A lot of the time, we’re hired, and we still have to follow the rules,” Tre G told Goodwin in an interview.
“A lot of the times you approach this differently because you think it’s this Eurocentric kind of thing. I’m excited just to bring our youthful version of this to the community. I’m hoping that maybe some young Black actor, or some young, Black, queer actor, gets a chance to see themselves represented in a new light.”
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” continues its tour through August 27, 2022. All performances are free. Each performance begins at 6:30 p.m. with a pre-show guide. The show begins at 6:45 p.m.
Visit www.stlshakes.org for more information.
