Director Christopher Alden has scrapped the dreamy forest in favour of a 1960′s school yard setting – a tad morbid and bizarre. Some of the characters are teachers (Oberon and Tytania) and some are pupils (Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena). The lover’s tiffs from Shakespeare’s original turn to adolescent arguments and teenage romances.

Charles Edward‘s set is strikingly beautiful and imaginative – giant brickwork walls of an urban British boys school, complete with high windows and several floors, it is staggeringly realistic. For me the design was the highlight of the production.

Visually this opera is quite unbelievable. The vast set and at times the sheer quantity of young boys on stage is enough to make you gasp. No-one can deny it is a daring production but I couldn’t help wondering how necessary all this drama is? It is not beneficial to our understanding, confused the already complicated narrative, and made little sense to me.

The large cast dealt with this odd interpretation as best they could. I have never seen so many young children in one opera – at one point when all the boys lined up across the stage I counted nearly 40!

The vocal star of the show was most definitely counter tenor Iestyn Davies as Oberon. He sings this tricky part wonderfully with pitch perfect accuracy and gorgeous tone. I could have listened to him all night. The chorus excelled producing a rich sound and bringing the best out of Britten’s stunning music.

The orchestra worked persistently on Britten’s tricky music, and I thought their rendition evoked all the magic of the Britten’s otherworldly score. Leo Hussain performed well too, conducting with a sensitive understanding of the music. Much of this opera’s music is quiet and hesitant – musical directions that are exhausting to conduct, especially for a three hour production. However, this didn’t seem to trouble Hussain at all and he seemed completely at ease throughout.

A very strange, and yet mesmerising production of Britten’s dazzling opera, go and see it if you like your opera a bit on the wild side.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the London Coliseum until 30 June. Book tickets

Last night I joined Peter Hall, Jeremy Paxman, Samuel West* and Melvyn Bragg (among other celebs and lots of happy civilians) in the audience at A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rose Theatre in Kingston.

This was the opening night of a much-anticipated show, directed by Peter Hall, and starring Judi Dench as Titania, Queen of the Fairies. A winning partnership, Hall and Dench first did this show some 38 years ago.

Played on a dark, black stage with few props, this is a traditional-dress production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with lots of stars in the cast. Diana Rigg’s daughter (Rachael Stirling) plays Helena, one of the lovers, alongside sexy Ben Mansfield from Primeval. Oliver Chris gets lots of laughs as Bottom, and wears the most gorgeous, realistic donkey head we’ve ever seen in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

We asked one of the many families in the audience for their views:

Susan, mum:
I thought it was beautiful. The costumes were wonderful. I’ve never seen it done in traditional dress, and I loved it. I’ve seen it with hippies, or modern, or whatnot, but not in period like this. It’s excellent.

Joe, 12:
I really liked Oliver Chris, the guy from Green Wing, as Bottom. He was really funny.

Hannah, 15:
It was excellent. I really liked all of it, the mechanicals especially. Oberon and Puck were great too.

Peter, dad:
It was fantastic, just as Shakespeare should be done: bare stage, a few props, just the words. You could hear every word, the speaking and acting was fantastic. I’m not sure Judi Dench added much: she just wafted in, spoke beautifully, and wafted out, but it didn’t matter.

Susan:
I wasn’t sure about having the old Titania either, but she was lovely, and she speaks beautifully. It was a fantastic show.

Have you seen this new A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

A Midsummer Night’s Dream plays at the Rose Theatre until 20 March

[*UPDATE:  as pointed out in the comments below, it was Timothy West, not his son Sam I saw in the crowd. Sam was obviously otherwise engaged, on stage, in Enron.]

But that’s not all. The fantastic Rachael Stirling (she’s Diana Rigg’s daughter, y’know) is playing Helena – the most fun a girl can have in a Shakespeare show without the responsibility and cross-dressing silliness of a Rosalind. Add to that the sexy Ben Mansfield as her love interest Demetrius (he was great at the Open Air Theatre this summer), and Oliver Chris from the Green Wing and Nathan Barley as Bottom, and, well, it’s all pretty exciting.  I’m also looking forward to seeing the ace Msimisi Dlamini (Philostrate) again after enjoying his performance in the Arcola’s Spanish Tragedy this season. And it’s all directed by Peter Hall. *And* tickets start at just £5. What a treat.

In other casting news, I’m happy to learn Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook are going to reprise their performances in the West End version of Jerusalem, particularly as the show won some top prizes at the Evening Standard Awards this week. Many of the other original Royal Court cast members are also coming back for the West End move. Even better news: if, like me, you haven’t got around to booking tickets yet, Jerusalem is offering 20 best-price seats at £10 each, available from the box office from 10am on the day of the performance. Bear in mind you’ve got to show up in person.

Speaking in Tongues has been in the news this week as Ian Hart allegedly lost his temper with an audience member. If you were there, tell us about it… If this has made you even more eager to see the show (which also stars the brilliant John Simm and Kerry Fox), book now: you’ve only got until 12 December…

Finally, news about a show which is a long way from posting closing notices: Billy Elliot. Not only have they extended booking until December 2010, but there’s also a new Billy to boot! Dean-Charles Chapman, 12, is no stranger to the show: he played Small Boy in the original cast when Billy Elliot opened in 2005; and has been playing Michael (Billy’s best friend) since the start of the year. Incredibly, he’s been training for Billy for two years. Break a leg, D-C!