Let’s get right down to it. The truth of the matter is that I feel a little bit strange about A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It is definitely a brilliant play (possibly even one of Shakespeare’s best comedies?) and it’s hilarious and witty and sarcastic and delightful.
But here’s the thing. For me, this play has the largest gap (at least so far) between the reading experience and the viewing experience.
Let me explain.
More than any other of the Bard’s work, this play demands to be on the stage. As a reading experience, I find it slightly lacking (although it has some good moments). I have yet to find a film adaptation that is decent. It simply demands to be a play. And that is wonderful. When you’re seeing it as a play. I’ve been fortunate to have seen this on stage a few different times and it is fabulous. But reading it is like trying to read Tolstoy aloud word-for-word as dinner theater. It just doesn’t fit. It’s not how it was meant to be experienced.
Now of course you can argue that this is the case with all Shakespeare’s plays, but I think the degree varies from play to play. There are a few plays I actually prefer reading (like Hamlet, Macbeth, and Henry V); there are some that I like reading about the same I like watching (Julius Caesar, both Henry IVs, and As You Like It); and then there are those that I definitely prefer watching over reading (the majority of the comedies are in this category, but I would put Romeo and Juliet here, too). A Midsummer Night’s Dream falls decisively in that last category.
When it is a good, high-quality production, going to see a play from that last category is the best way to introduce someone to Shakespeare. Specifically, I would say I’m pretty solidly of the opinion that the absolute best introduction to Shakespeare is a high-quality production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But if that is not available to you and you would be reading the play, this is not one that would be high on my list of recommendations.
This was all a long-winded way of saying that as a piece of theatre, I adore this piece. As reading material, there’s nothing really wrong with it, but there are definitely better ones.
As a quick note, you can see my suggestions of where to start with Shakespeare here.
