Dream (2021)
The Royal Shakespeare Company, in collaboration with Manchester International Festival, Marshmallow Laser Feast and Philharmonia Orchestra
Available free until 31 September 2021
Inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this online performance from the Royal Shakespeare Company is set in the magical world of a virtual midsummer forest, narrated by Australia’s Nick Cave. Puck invites audiences on a dreamlike journey between dusk and dawn. With a cloud of fireflies lighting the way, viewers will explore the forest and encounter four sprites, Moth, Peaseblossom, Cobweb and Mustardseed.
Dream is the culmination of a major piece of research and development exploring how audiences of the future will experience live performance, bringing together expertise in theatre, the music industry, video production and gaming. Integral to the experience of Dream is an interactive symphonic score recorded by the Philharmonia Orchestra, manipulated in real-time by the performers, creating interactive music with their movements.
This presentation of Dream was performed live by actors in a motion-capture space at Portsmouth Guildhall in March 2021, and is followed by a recorded Q&A with the cast, creatives and technology teams.
Cast and creatives:
Robin McNicholas – Director
Pippa Hill – Script Creation
Robin Mc Nicholas & Pippa Hill – Narrative
Esa-Pekka Salonen – Music Director & Composer
Jesper Nordin – Composer, Interactivity Designer and Creative Advisor, Music
Sarah Perry – Movement Director
Maggie Bain – Cobweb
Phoebe Hyder - Understudy Puck & Mustardseed
Durassie Kiangangu – Moth
Jamie Morgan – Peaseblossom
Loren O'Dair – Mustardseed
Tom Scurr – Camera Operator
EM Williams – Puck
Edmund Wood – rehearsal assistant and Understudy Moth, Cobweb and Peaseblossom
With
Nick Cave – as the Voice of the Forest
Dream is brought to you by the Audience of the Future Consortium. The project is funded within the Audience of the Future programme by UK Research and Innovation through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
Dream is generously supported by Miranda Curtis CMG, the Sidney E. Frank Foundation, Audrey Mandela and Sean Phelan, and is an EPIC MegaGrants recipient.