Ricky Oakley on his role in ‘A Midsummer night’s Dream’

A Midsummer night’s Dream opens this week. Performed at Iris Theatre’s Summer Festival at the Actors’ Church in the heart of Covent Garden, the production opens on 5 July, with previews from 29 June, and runs until 13 August.  Now in its 14th year, Iris Theatre’s summer season has become a critically-acclaimed, award-winning part of the theatrical calendar, welcoming thousands of people to the Actors’ Church. Escape the hustle and bustle, take in the beautiful grounds of the Actors’ Church, and enjoy a drink at The Bard, a new pop-up bar designed specifically for this fantastic new adaptation.

It’s Midsummer’s night and the young people of Athens Academy are getting ready for a party. Young Demetrius is about to be crowned prom king with his queen-to-be (he hopes) Hermia. Only problem is, she’s in love with someone else…

Fleeing her homecoming throne, Hermia escapes to the forest where new mysteries await her. A feuding fairy King and Queen plot revenge, a band of travelling misfits prepare for their latest performance whilst a magical trickster pursues mischief.

Expect enchantments, merriment, 90s throwbacks and love triangles aplenty in this hilarious romp through the gardens of the stunning Actors Church in Central London.

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

A Midsummer night’s Dream

Ricky Oakley who plays Demetrius/Starveling speaks to The Artiscape about his role in upcoming show.

His theatre credits include Magic Goes Wrong (West End/UK Tour), The Optimists (Southwark Playhouse), 50 Years (The Old Red Lion), Private Lives, Much Ado about Nothing, Put out the Lights (Red Rose Chain), Romeo and Juliet (Guildford Shakespeare Company), Roller Diner (Soho Theatre), King David (Finborough Theatre), A Theatre Near You, Beauty and the Beast, Dick Whittington, Jack and the Beanstalk (Oxford Playhouse),

The Comedy of Errors (Orange Tree Theatre), Posh (Pennyshort Theatre), Britain Ltd (ad Infinitum), and Hamlet (Shakespeare’s Globe).  His television credits include Doctors.

What are you looking forward to about your upcoming performance in A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Oakley: I’m very much looking forward to welcoming the audience into the beautiful grounds of the church and showing them exactly how we’ve managed to have a mix of the traditional and the contemporary. 

You play two characters Demetrius/Starveling. How challenging is it in playing two different characters in a Shakespearean play?

Oakley: The challenge comes from showing the different arcs the characters go through as well as how different they are as people. If you get two clear ideas of what they both went through when just played by one person then it’s gone right.

How do you prepare for a role like this? 

Oakley: The best thing about preparing a role for a Shakespeare is that everything you need for the character is on the page. He’s done it all for you, you just have to look.

Can you tell about the characters you play?

Oakley: So, in our version Demetrius is a high school jock. Very entitled and feels as if everything is owed to him. This all gets shaken at the start of the play when he doesn’t get what he wants. Our version of Starvling is very self-important and used to being the leading figure in the glee club but gets usurped by bottom.

What do you think an audience will enjoy about this production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream? 

Oakley: I think the audience will get a great feeling of nostalgia and a great dose of fun and energy. Hopefully the weather stays lovely all summer, and we can keep them dry in the gorgeous grounds of the church!