Reviewed: Apr 19

There is little romance in Olivia Yan Wing-pui's reinterpretation of this Shakespeare classic, and much of its comedy comes from not the play but the deadpan presence of indie band Juicyning, who are appearing as guests. The director turns A Midsummer Night's Dream on its head by making it a semi-tragedy, with its Helena as love-sick, forlorn and deranged as Ophelia in Hamlet.

Yet other than some editing to reduce the length of the five-act play (which still runs to a lengthy three hours), Yan remains faithful to the original text, adapting the Cantonese version translated by Daniel Yang, a former artistic director of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre.

So we still have lovers Hermia (Musette Tsang) and Lysander (Cheung Ming-yiu) eloping into the magical woods, followed by Demetrius (Tyson Chak), who is in pursuit of Hermia, and Helena (Yeung Sze-man), who in turn is infatuated with Demetrius.

Yan's portrayal of the lovers is brutal; the two women are hysterical and the men violent and jealous.

There are parts - such as Titania's sudden yearning for her fairies and musical numbers - which seem out of synch with the rest with the play, but, overall, Yan's reworking of the classic is thoughtful and refreshing. Her handling of the play within a play, performed by the four members of Juicyning, is deliciously vulgar, as it should be.

Until Apr 27, 7.30pm; Apr 26 and 27 also at 2.45pm. Tickets: HK$180-HK$350. Inquiries: 2511 0139