Shakespeare 4 Kidz - S4K's Dream: Lincoln Preview

A FUN way to enjoy Shakespeare comes to Lincoln Theatre Royal next week, when a musical, modern version of A Midsummer Night�s Dream hits the stage.

It�s an acclaimed production from the Shakespeare 4 Kidz company, which works its magic on the original lines in this musical tour.
The child-friendly version visits Lincoln on Wednesday, for shows at 10.30am and 1.30pm.

Can you and your kids resist the fabulous story of a Duke marrying his Amazonian queen, two sets of lovers who elope into the woods where the audience finds feuding fairies and a naughty sprite called Puck, whose mismanaged magic causes no end of hilarity?

Bottom (surely the best name for a comedy character ever) is one of theatre�s funniest roles.
Audiences are guaranteed a greatlaugh when Puck�s prank puts an ass�s head onto him and fairy queen Titania wakes up and promptly falls in love with him.

Di Eccleston, from Shakespeare 4 Kidz, said: �Julian Chenery and Matt Gimblett have taken some of the mostfamous lines and woven them into modern language. It�s so cleverly done that people don�t realise what they�re listening to.

�People say there�s hardly any Shakespeare in it, but we found about 20 per cent of the script is his original lines and so children will know the
story when they come across it later in life.

�When we have an evening performance, mums and dads bring their kids. People who go as adults love it too � they�re in tears of laughter at the end.�

There are songs, dances and spellbinding effects as the fairies create a world of wonder in the woods. The Dream is one of six S4K titles,following on from the 2009-10 national and international hit tour of Macbeth.

So, if you fancy a plot filled with fairies and fun, royalty and romance, magic and misunderstandings, A Midsummer Night�s Dream has them all.
Teachers, parents, pupils and critics are all unanimous in their praise of the Shakespeare 4 Kidz package.
It is one of the most popular plays ever written, and this adaptation means even though it�s a telling of three interwoven stories � and a play within a play � those previously baffled by the Bard can at last understand what it is all about. Here�s a hint to help you get to grips with the plot: four young friends are involved in a dispute concerning an arranged marriage. At the same time, six working men rehearse their play to be performed at the Royal Wedding Feast, while the King and Queen of Fairyland�s constant arguing has upset the balance of the mortal world. Puck the mischievous sprite stirs these ingredients to make midsummer madness in the woods � or is it all a dream?

In the know
WHERE: Lincoln Theatre Royal
WHEN: Wednesday
TICKETS: �16/�10 (+ special school rate)
BOOKING: 01522 519999

What they say about us:
"It was a completely fresh experience to be in an audience of children most of whom had no idea what they were seeing beyond that it was about a man who kills the king to become king � in effect it was like going to see the play with the first audiences that went to see it when it was written, which made it a wholly different play. I reckon anyone who wants to get an inkling of how Shakespeare plays came across in their own time shouldn't be going to the Globe with an adult audience, they should be going to your performances."

What they say about us:

"It was a completely fresh experience to be in an audience of children most of whom had no idea what they were seeing beyond that it was about a man who kills the king to become king � in effect it was like going to see the play with the first audiences that went to see it when it was written, which made it a wholly different play. I reckon anyone who wants to get an inkling of how Shakespeare plays came across in their own time shouldn't be going to the Globe with an adult audience, they should be going to your performances."