MAGICAL musical, The Dreaming, is coming to Ely this summer thanks to an exciting partnership between King’s Ely and Soham’s Viva! Youth Theatre Group.
Written by Howard Goodall and Charles Hart, The Dreaming is a beautiful and thought-provoking show based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was commissioned and first performed by the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) in 2001.
The production is set in 1915 in a quiet Somerset village surrounded by woodland on the eve of the summer solstice. A young scruff of a local lad, Jack, is caught up in a woodland spat between Angel and Sylvia, the punkish tribal leaders of the woodlanders. Two young middle-class couples are tangled in romantic confusion. And the lord of the manor is celebrating his 21st birthday with a patriotic pageant of St George to be performed by the local tradesmen and farm boys.
Young thespians from King’s Ely and the award-winning Viva! Youth Theatre Group are joining forces to stage the production at Ely’s Hayward Theatre from Thursday, August 3rd to Saturday, August 5th. The show will then tour to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from August 8th to 12th.
The Dreaming was originally directed by Jeremy James Taylor, founder of the NYMT, and he is directing the production in Ely. The show is being co-produced by Nick Huntington, Director of Drama and Theatre at King’s Ely, and Daniel Schumann, Artistic Director of Viva! Youth Theatre Group.
The production is being generously supported by The Arts Council, De Sangosse Ltd and Blueshed Studios. Performances are at 7.30pm on Thursday and Friday, August 3rd and 4th, and at 2pm on Saturday, August 5th.
Tickets are £10 for adults and £7 for concessions. To book, please visit www.kingsely.org/box-office