Theatre review: A Midsummer Night's Dream(Regent's Park Open Air Theatre)

I doubt too many people would be surprised to know that A Midsummer Night's Dream ranks as the most frequently-produced play in the Open Air Theatre's history, although in my personal experience (this is now my third) they've not yet managed a production that's lived up to the perfect summer setting. Atri Banerjee's won't buck that trend, though at least in a year that's not served the play particularly well it's streets ahead of the Globe's current infantile attempt. The big idea behind Banerjee's version is to build up the role of music in the play, with the fairies becoming a folk band, playing songs Maimuna Memon has composed out of the lyrics Shakespeare has provided, as well as out of a lot of the poetry usually spoken. It's an idea that provides a lot of charm, lifting the scenes that the band underscores, but it does come at the expense of the comedy.The story begins with preparations for the wedding of Theseus (Olivier Huband) and Hippolyta (Jenny Rainsford,) and it's a…