For the nineteenth Drama Festival held by the College of Humanities, the English Language and Literature Department staged William Shakespeare’s classic comedy, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

Just as the academic realities of the new semester started looming in, the fairies of the forest lured the weary SNU students into a magical dream to which they could escape for two exciting hours.

In September of every year, the six departments of the College of Humanities collaborate for the annual Drama Festival, in which each department holds a theatre production in their affiliated language. This year is the nineteenth consecutive year that the festival was held. While the plays of the French and Hispanic Language and Literature departments approached more weighty themes and solemn genres, the comic play performed by the English Language and Literature Department provided a light-hearted closure to the overall event.

On the 17th and 18th of September, the Department of English Language and Literature staged their production of William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in the Doore Cultural Centre.

The poster of the production designed by the production cast

This highly acclaimed play was written in the mid-1590s, and its popularity persists until this day. Not only is the piece a classic literature read worldwide and one of the most extensively staged plays, but also the foundation for numerous film adaptations, of which Michael Hoffman’s rendition in 1999 is the most well-known. Although Shakespeare is renowned for his romance and tragedy genres such as ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Macbeth’, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ further reveals the playwright’s imaginative and creative flair as a combination of the fantasy and comedy genre.

Although the English Language and Literature Department was the last to perform among the other departments that participated in the Drama Festival, the performance was in fact premiered on the 2nd of September in the newly established Amphitheatre. This day was the opening ceremony of the state-of-the-art Amphitheatre, which was donated by the head of the English Language and Literature alumni, Ryu Jin. Thus, the department performed their play as a highlight of this event, and a few members of the alumni also participated in the performance that day. Not only was it a memorable event for the English Language and Literature Department, in which students, professors, and alumni could reunite, but also a valuable experience for the production cast as they were able to gain an authentic experience of performing in an outdoor theatre, where Shakespeare’s plays were originally staged.

The production staff included approximately forty undergraduate and graduate students, and professors, who took on the roles of acting, directing, producing, costume and stage design etc. While some SNU students spent their summer break travelling around the world, volunteering, or simply resting at home, these committed members devoted their holiday in a rehearsal room for six hours a day, five days a week. Their dedication and efforts definitely paid off as the notable turnout on both days affirmed that the production was indeed a success. CHOI Yun Ji (Department of English Language and Literature), one of the actors of the play, explained that one of the factors that made this play so great was the significant amount of financial support they received from the department this year. “We even received a private make-up lesson from a professional stage make-up artist. We were very lucky and are extremely thankful.”

Hippolyta (The Fairy Queen) & her fairies

With such extravagant set, elaborate costumes, and intricate stage make-up, the audience was invited on a journey in an ethereal dream with vivacious fairies prancing around the forest, hilarious and delightful Mechanicals, pitiable young lovers entwined in a spell, and the boisterous braying of an “ass” (donkey). Despite the difficult Shakespearean language, the actors were able to keep the audience laughing from the opening scene all the way to the curtain call.

Hippolyta (The Fairy Queen) & her fairies & Bottom (Mechanical that turns into an ass)

The troubles of romance is one of the major themes of the play. Thus, this light-hearted comedy was not only entertaining, but also served as a reminder that “The course of true love never did run smooth.” The audience is torn between their hopes for a happy ending with the lovers ultimately finding their true love, and the comic elements that arise from the lovers suffering and tormented by misapplied magic. KIM Yu-Min (Department of English Language and Literature), another actor in the play, explained that one of the reasons she loves this piece is because, “It is not the typical love story - there are twists and turns. And although on the surface it just seems like a fantasy story, I was surprised to find that there is actually some truth and reality behind all of it.”

The Mechanicals performing their play in the last scene

KO A-Ra (Department of Psychology) shared her experience of the play as an audience member. “Although it was a large cast of seventeen actors, each role had such distinct characteristics that I am still able to laugh just at the thought of each of them.” She added, “Despite the complex plot, they managed to keep me thoroughly entertained and laughing for two hours straight! It is such a cheerful and delightful play.”

The curtain call

Written by Hye Bin Lee, SNU English Editor, hahahybes@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies, eps7257@snu.ac.kr