Dream Cast Announcement

In celebration of Shakespeare’s 455th Birthday, Driftwood Theatre is very excited to announce the cast of its 25th annual Bard’s Bus Tour production of A (Musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream

For our 25th season, Driftwood imagines A (Musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream as an outdoor summer theatre experience for the entire family. Four lovers and one group of hapless tradespeople experience a chaos-filled night in the forest as they stumble across the mischievous Puck and the magical denizens of the faery kingdom.

Directed by founding Artistic Director D. Jeremy Smith, the A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream ensemble includes founding company member Steven Burley (all three previous Dreams; The 39 Steps, Bruce County Playhouse;) as Bottome, Driftwood’s 2017 Artist-in-Residence Ahmed Moneka (Abduction from the Seraglio, Canadian Opera Company; Moskitto Bar; Moneka Arabic Jazz; Trafalgar 24, Driftwood Theatre) as Puck, returning company member Siobhan Richardson (Kate in The Taming of the Shrew, Driftwood; The Penelopiad, Grand Theatre London; ) as Titania/Hippolyta, and welcomes back James Dallas Smith (Ipperwash, Native Earth/Blyth; Trafalgar 24, Driftwood Theatre) to his first Bard’s Bus Tour role since 2002’s As You Like It as Oberon/Theseus.

Returning company members are joined by fresh faces Nick Dolan (Once, Theatre St. John’s) as Demetrius, Nathaniel Hanula-James (National Theatre School) as Lysander, Kelsi James (Theatre Sheridan) as Helena, and Marissa Orjalo (Sheridan/UTM) as Hermia.

Using Shakespeare’s text A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream is a colourful, rocking, rolling, funktastic, jazz-infused musical celebration of theatrical proportions; with everything performed live and entirely A Cappella. Originally created by Driftwood in 2004 and performed again in 2012, A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream reunites composers Kevin Fox (The Swingle Singers, Cadence) and Tom Lillington (Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Hampton Avenue) with director Jeremy Smith.

“It’s about community, companionship and love,” said Driftwood Artistic Director Jeremy Smith. “Dream reminds us of the importance of putting down our devices, stepping away from our screens, and making the kind of tangible connections which encourage empathy, understanding and respect.”

A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream creative team includes production designer Julia Kim (Judas Noir, Obsidian Theatre; assistant designer, Stratford Festival), dramaturge Myekah Payne (Obsidian Theatre; Rosalynde, Driftwood), and stage manager Kelsey Rae. The creative team is supported by Movement Coach Jennifer Dallas, Movement Coach Associate Jessie Garon, and Apprentice Stage Manager Angela Mae Bago.