A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Open Fist Theatre Company presents a provocative new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream set in the Antebellum South. Intrigued by the Mechanicals’ line “That would hang us every mother’s son,” director James Fowler has moved the actionfrom Athens, Greece to Athens, Georgia circa 1855. There, with Shakespeare’s text unchanged, we enter a world where the magic of an enslaved people plays out in the lives of those to whom they remain invisible.

“It makes sense that the fairies, unseen to the lovers, are invisible to the plantation owners around them because they are enslaved. I imagine African slaves on the plantations as people who, despite horrendous hardship, carried magic. In this production, we’re able to see their magic played out in the lives of the people around them who don’t ever see them.

Parking is free is in the ATX (Atwater Crossing) parking lot one block south of the theater. Appropriate for ages 8 and up.

Previews: June 17-June 24
Performances: June 25 – August 13
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: June 17 (preview), June 24 (preview), July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22, July 29, Aug. 5, Aug. 12
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: June 18 (preview), June 25 (Opening Night), July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 30, Aug. 6, Aug. 13
• Sundays at 7 p.m.: June 18 (preview), June 26, July 3, July 10, July 17, July 24, July 31, Aug. 7