b'A Note from Artistic DirectorPeter G. AndersenThisis,inmanyways,theperfectplaytobedoinginaspacelikethis,because the woods and nature are a metaphor which Shakespeare returns tocontinually in his work.It is a space where we learn about ourselves, andencounter trials and challenges which wake us up. If the woods serve as ametaphor for liberation, then the city is its inverse: a place for conservative,oppressive laws which constrict us and our desires.The lovers must fleefrom the city in order to seek their freedom and discover who they are.Its in this journey from oppression to liberation that I am most interested.Thisplayistypicallythoughtofasalight-heartedcomedy,butactuallyShakespeare is constantly weighing darkness with lightness throughout thewhole piece.We begin in an upper class milieu where death hovers as animminent threat.Hermias parent would rather she died than marry the wrongperson.Even when the lovers reach the forest there is still danger lurking.Only by moving through this darkness are Shakespeares characters able toshift, find each other, and ultimately succeed.Thisjourneyispurelyclassicalinitsstructure,anditremindedmeofthejourney so many LGBTQ+ people have to make in their youth.Oftentheyhavetojourneyawayfromtheirconstrictivehomesandintoanewenvironmenttowhichwillallowthemtodiscoverthemselvesandtheirdesires.By casting the lovers as queer couples we sought to highlight thisnarrative, and to illuminate new aspects of the text which are often brushedover.Of course, while this may seem radical to a contemporary audience, itwasnt too far from the way in which Shakespeares company cast the playsthemselves.Allofhischaracterswereperformedbymaleactors,andShakespeareoftenacknowledgesthisrealitywithinhiswriting(i.e.thecontinual references to Helenas height).Shakespeare understood there is great pleasure in watching lovers in a play;theyremindusofourowndesiresandyouth.NowonderthenheendsMiidsummer with a play-within-a-play about.young people falling in love.ItsMdsummerhis final gift to the four lovers: a reminder of the journey they just went onthemselves.'