A Midsummer Night's Dream

A stag night with a poltergeist, elves, and goblins

A comedy by William Shakespeare, adapted by Michael Niavarani

Directed by Michael Niavarani & Helena Scheuba

Michael Niavarani does it again: After Richard III and Romeo & Juliet, it's now Shakespeare's turn to present his most famous comedy – A Midsummer Night's Dream.

"You won't believe what you see. Enchanted by magical demons, if you're not careful, you'll fall in love with the person sitting next to you and never want to go home with your husband. What's going on? Quite simply: When lovers promise each other eternal desire and then keep falling in love with someone else – that was Puck!" (Michael Niavarani)

Things get eerie and magical in Michael Niavarani's A Midsummer Night's Dream: Puck, the poltergeist, is at work when lovers promise each other eternal desire and then keep falling in love with someone else. And when Puck, who makes life difficult for us, spreads love hormones, a woman might rub her eyes and ask, "Did I just sleep with a donkey?" The fairy queen and the fairy king are fighting over their adopted child, and lo and behold, the elements go haywire. Everything's just like in real life. And when an untalented acting troupe rehearses the tragedy of "Pyramus and Thisbe" in the forest, things get unintentionally comical. 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 Fiancés/Lovers
HERMIA Sophie Aujesky
HELENA Lisa Weidenmüller
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 Employees
PETRA SQUENZ (PROLOGUE) Katharina Dorian
NIKLAS ZETTEL (PYRAMUS) Michael Niavarani
MR. FLAUT (THISBE) Matthias Mamedof
MR. SCHNAUZ (WALL) Magda Leeb
MR. SCHNOCK (LION) Stefan Altenhofer
MR. SCHLAGER (MOON) Jenny Frankl
PUCK 2, 3 and 4 Nora Hackstock, Lena Prokopl, 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

BACKSTAGE
BOOK: Michael Niavarani
Laurence Boswell
Based on William Shakespeare

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

DIRECTION: Michael Niavarani & Helena Scheuba
COMPOSITIONS: Johannes Glück
ARRANGEMENTS: Christian Frank
COSTUME: Inge Stolterfoht
COSTUME ASSISTANT: Rosa Dreher
DRESSERS: Elvira Becker, Sophie Gruber, Johanna Hesse, Annalena Hollaus, Julia Sailer, Alea Siegele
MAKEUP: Viktoria Carioli
EVENING MAKEUP: Julia Artner, Beatrix Beck, Katrin Bohaty, Jacqueline Daume, Viktoria Kirchner, Anna Maurer, Tine Wesp
SFX: Gaby Grünwald
VICIOUS FX: Valerie Rossacher, Georg Korpás
SET DESIGN: Enid Löser
PROP: Silke Drack
LIGHTING: Dominik Herout, Andreas Raunig
SOUND: Gabriel Körbler, Gerry Wimmer, Luca Zettl
STAGE: Florian Apfel, Sascha Dreindl, Sarah Kadlec
MOVEMENT:
ARTISTS: ape connection
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT: Andrea Kern
MANAGEMENT: Bojan Djukic, Benedict Steininger
PRODUCERS Georg Hoanzl & Michael Niavarani
PUBLISHING: Schultz & Schirm Bühnenverlag

A production of NIAVARANI & HOANZL GmbH