A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Torrington

In the bleak midwinter, Shakespeare comes again to Torrington with Trinity Arts Series’ unseasonable production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Saturday, February 22 at 7:30 p.m. Shakespeare’s hilarious tale of romance and intrigue set in ancient Athens will be performed by Shakespeare & Company of Lenox, which the Boston Globe has called "perhaps the best all-American Shakespeare ensemble ever."

The Company’s seven-actor, 15-week tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, produced by the Company’s renowned Education Program and directed by Kevin G. Coleman and Elisabeth Borg, is a 90-minute, fast-paced Bare Bard-style production. It is similar to Shakespeare’s own touring productions, which took to the countryside when the plague shook London and city officials closed down the theatres. Like Shakespeare & Company, the players would take to the road, performing edited versions of the plays with smaller acting troupes in which the actors played multiple roles. These touring productions were very likely Shakespeare’s first encounter with theatre, and he may well have joined one himself as a young man.

"I think this play makes a compelling case for the importance of mischief and magic—the children of imagination," says Coleman. "It also points up the desperate need in our own lives for the very themes (of love, the nature of art, the necessity of play, and the importance of dreams) it flashes across the pages or on the stage."

The seven-member cast will perform over 125 times at 50 schools and theatre venues all over the Northeast—stretching as far north as Caribou, Maine, and as far south as New York City. One of the most extensive theatre-in-education programs in the Northeast, Shakespeare & Company programs have reached over half a million students in the past 26 years with innovative performances, workshops and residencies.

The Trinity Arts performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will take place at Trinity Episcopal Church, 220 Prospect St. in Torrington. Tickets are $20 and $10; for more info call 860-482-4411.