the essay has to be specfically of the play that we went to see: A Midsummer Night’s Dream @ The Globe (Sam Wanamaker Theatre) , 7:30pm LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM.

What the Paper Is

The course description states that the aim is:

• To understand Shakespeare in literary and in performance terms
• To learn how to write theatre reviews
• To analyze how productions transform Shakespeare for contemporary audiences
• 2026SP Shakespeare in London (3…

So Paper II is a theatre review of the production of A Midsummer Nights Dream that you attended.

Required Focus of the Essay

From the reviewing guidelines in the syllabus:

1. Interpretation Is Central

Interpretation is the most important part of a review.

2026SP Shakespeare in London (3…

You must explain:

• What the production was trying to say about the play
• How it interpreted the text
• What themes it brought to the foreground
• How its staging choices shaped meaning

2. Analyze the Production (Not Just the Text)

You are expected to examine elements such as:

• The stage and venue
• Set design
• Costumes
• Lighting
• Music
• Props
• Pacing
• Interval placement
• Acting style
• Casting choices
• Cuts, rearrangements, or additions to the text
• 2026SP Shakespeare in London (3…

You do not need to cover all of these but you must select and analyze the most significant ones.

3. Method and Approach

The syllabus instructs you to:

• Provide careful factual observation
• Offer specific description
• Avoid sweeping judgments like wonderful or awful
• Minimize excessive use of I felt statements
• Be analytical rather than purely evaluative
• 2026SP Shakespeare in London (3…

A review is described as:

An analytical attempt to describe and explain how the performance worked.

2026SP Shakespeare in London (3…

What Is Not Required

There is:

• No separate prompt question
• No required secondary source citation stated
• No prescribed structure
• No demand for external research

The assignment is strictly:

• A 1200-word analytical theatre review
• Focused on the production of A Midsummer Nights Dream

INTERPRETATION (MOST IMPORTANT)

• What was this production trying to say?
• Did it emphasize romance? Chaos? Cruelty? Sexuality? Power?
• Did it treat the play as light comedy or something darker?
• Did the interpretation arise naturally from the text?
• Or were ideas imposed onto it?
• How did it speak to a contemporary audience?

ACTORS & AUDIENCE

Casting

• Age, gender, race choices?
• Any cross-casting or doubling?
• Did casting create new meanings?

Acting Style

• Psychological realism?
• Stylized or performative?
• Did actors shift styles between worlds?

ActorAudience Relationship

• Direct address?
• Audience involvement?
• How did the audience react?
• Did reactions align with your reading of the play?

TEXTUAL TREATMENT

• Were scenes cut?
• Was language altered?
• Were there additions?
• Did performance reveal new meanings in the language?
• Did certain speeches land differently live than on the page?

EVALUATION

• How successfully did the elements work together?
• Which choices were most effective?
• Which were less convincing?
• What does this production add to our understanding of A Midsummer Nights Dream?
• How does it sit within todays cultural context?