Upon arriving at Newnham, the audience was instantly immersed in the confused, dream-like narrative. Maids chatted as they escorted us to the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, where the action was already under way; foolish ‘rude mechanicals’ sat amongst us, earnestly talking nonsense; Hippolyta sat nervously on stage, furtively drinking from a hip flask.

The maids ushered viewers from the scene of the wedding, to the beautiful gardens of Newnham, to ‘the woods’, recreated in the Old Labs as a 1920s jazz den complete with cocktails and olives for the guests – all of which worked to great effect. Characters were portrayed as increasingly intoxicated as the evening escalated into confusion, leading up to an impressive, hilarious crescendo of drunken brawling. The arrival of a punch-bowl full of drink elicited laughter from the audience, who could already see its terrible fate.

Gelling Shakespearean verse with a 1920s jazz den is no mean feat, but the actors made this work superbly. Though generally strong as a cast, Rhianna Frost’s mischievous Puck and Alys Williams’ hysterically frustrated Helena were particularly excellent. This play also contains the funniest portrayal of ‘Wall’ I have ever seen, using a simple cardboard costume with a hole – the chink which the lovers looked through – through which the actor’s fingers rapidly appeared, only to vanish.

The cast’s greatest achievement, however, was the way they worked as a unit to create a seamless performance. They had fantastic on-stage chemistry, and adapted easily to well-placed cuts made to the script. The occasional modern colloquialism gave great comic effect.

The only disappointing aspects of the production were its use of sound and lighting, which both lacked the intensity one would except of a jazz den. The sound was played from a laptop, meaning that a clearly well-constructed sound set lost its power by simply not being nearly loud enough. An otherwise well-choreographed and well-performed dance by the fairies felt slightly underwhelming without the blaring jazz accompaniment expected.

In spite of these flaws, Katie Akers deserves much credit for her fantastic direction. Her innovations made this a fantastic performance of a well-known classic, and the production brought out the humour of the play, making for a highly entertaining evening.