A Midsummer Night's Dream Performed by Kyiv National I.K. Karpenko-Karyi University of 

Theatre, Cinema and Television

In the evening of October 18th, A Midsummer Night's Dream by Kyiv National I.K. Karpenko-Karyi University of Theatre, Cinema and Television was performed in Proscenium Stage Theatre in Chang Ping campus of The Central Academy of Drama.  The performance analyzed the human emotion as well as its comic transfer, and combined the national culture of Ukraine with the theatre creation, making the whole performance filled with Ukrainian elements.

The whole stage design was very simple. The actors wore white traditional Ukrainian pajamas to express the meaning of dream. And they also strengthened this interpretation by using the movement of dispelling the mist and clouds. Each actor played two roles with the help of the puppet in their hands. They even chose to use the form of puppet theatre instead of changing the costume in order to emphasize this innovative and creative design.

There is many live music in the performance. The actors follows the rhythm of drumbeats, which made the protagonist obey its power and show the most shocking energy. For the most brilliant part, the confrontation among Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena, the team uses hip-hop, non-stop lines and exaggerated movements to push the atmosphere to a new high.

This performance showed the audience the actors' capability in movements and acting. Parallel with Ukrainian historical myths, the main characters were turned from Greeks to Ukrainians. There are many Ukrainian cultural elements such as the songs and dance, as well as traditional puppets in Ukraine in the whole performance. The director mentioned in the post-show talk that we could easily find Ukrainian ethnic spirit of Ivana Kupala folk holiday in it. There is a legend that the person who could find the flower of fern in the Ivana Kupala midnight would be rich and happy, which is coincident with Shakespeare's setting. So they use this legend to express the passion, confidence and optimism. Their love of national culture also touched all the audience on the scene.