Midsummer Nights Dream - Globe Theatre Performance

Compared to the original performance of 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' there has been many modern adaptations since that have altered aspects of the performance to suit the modern era. our class recently went to see an adaptation of 'Midsummer' in the globe theatre which was considerable different compared to the original performances. 

One way in which the modern performance was different was through the change of culture. When it was first performed in the 1500's it was deemed acceptable for young nobles to be set up in arranged marriages where as now-a-days it is not as common and in some countries it is even illegal. So in order for the this concept to seem realistic in the modern world, they made the main lover, Hermia, who is being put in an arranged marriage a part of Indian culture. This is more plausible to a modern audience as some Indian families do set their children in arranged marriages due to their cultural beliefs. 

Furthermore, the Indian culture meant that they could change the music of the performance to traditional Indian music. In most of Shakespeare's plays there would have been songs or music in their performances however this music would have been of its era so it makes sense for the modern production to modernise the music. For intense they referenced modern pop culture through the use of the song 'Ring on it' by Beyonce to help explain that Lysander and Hermia were running away to get married. This not only made a joke for the modern audience but it also helped explain the context of the story. They also used a tradition sitar player that was seated on the balcony who accompanied through out the performance. the music not only heightened the atmosphere but it also helped represent the magic being used and it link the Indian heritage of some of the characters to the story line. 

Finally they made a drastic change to characters in the modern performance by linking the modern acceptance of homosexual couples. In the original, the are two couples of lovers, Hermia with Lysander and Helena with Demetrius. However in this adaptation they decided to change Helena to a boy and call him Helenus. By doing this it meant that there was not only a confusion of who everyone was meant to be in love with but also there was confusion on the lover's sexuality. this defiantly made it suitable for modern audiences as we have accepted homosexuality and it is currently all over the media. However if this was showed to Shakespearean audiences it would probably been frowned upon as it was illegal. So I think the use of homosexuality in the modern play shows our progression of acceptance of homosexuality over the years.