First up is a brief overview of the direct story I wanted to tell with my adaptation, followed by an explanation of my goals with my adaptation.
For my adaptation both me and my partner have decided to create a
modernized version of Midsummer Night’s Dream that keeps the same overall themes. Our basic
plot is that in modern day Liverpool two lovers, Hermia and Helena, want to be free from their
parents, who refuse to accept their relationship. They decide to take a train to London where they
can stay with a distant family member of Helena and not have to worry about their parents
anymore. When they leave Demetrius, who is in love with Hermia, follows them, he himself is
followed by Lysander, who is in love with Demetrius. Also on the train to London is a group of
college theatre students who have been offered a chance to perform their school play in London,
as well as the owner of the train company, Oberon, and the leader of a small union of train staff,
Titania. The two are locked in negotiations over a wage increase and Oberon has come aboard
this train in order to fire anyone he sees not working. In protest Titania and the union shut down
the train in the middle of nowhere. When Oberon still refuses to increase pay, even to get the
train moving, Titania then tries something else. After nightfall she uses “magic” to cause Oberon
to fall in love with the next person he sees, who happens to be the college theatre student Nick
Bottom who had gotten lost on the train and was looking for his friends. After that Titania comes
across the 4 lovers asleep in one of the train cars. She mistakes the situation and causes both
Demetrius and Hermia to fall in love with Lysander. They fight due to this and all end up
sleeping by themselves the following night. Meanwhile Oberon and Nick Bottom continue their
“relationship”. Oberon has agreed to Titania’s terms so she releases him from the love magic, as
well as the lovers. With everything fixed the group all decide to go to London and watch the
theatre group’s play.
The main goal of my adaptation was to create a version of Midsummer Night's Dream that followed Shakespeare's original messages about freedom, love, and social barriers while updating the story to fit a modern audience. The first thing me and my partner chose to address with our adaptation was changing the exact relationship between the lovers. LGBT rights and acceptance is a topic that any modern member of society is well acquainted with, and much how Shakespeare used his original story to comment on the unfair balance of power between members of society, even when dealing with their own personal lives, we chose to do the same. Helena and Hermia's parents are the stressor in their lives causes them to run away and seek freedom, and their struggle against their parents follows the same spirit of Hermia and Lysander's original struggle against the patriarchal society of Athens. Continuing along the theme of subverting existing balances of power we've edited the classic conflict between Oberon and Titania. Rather than the standard conflict of Oberon tricking Titania in order to steal her child from her we've instead turned the tables, and had Titania use her magic on Oberon in order to break the traditional control that a manager tends to have over their workers. Titania stands up for and fights for proper conditions for workers that would not be obtained otherwise. Overall our entire adaptation was designed to portray themes of freedom and love and breaking barriers in a modern setting that anyone living in today's world could find relatable and meaningful.
For my adaptation both me and my partner have decided to create a
modernized version of Midsummer Night’s Dream that keeps the same overall themes. Our basic
plot is that in modern day Liverpool two lovers, Hermia and Helena, want to be free from their
parents, who refuse to accept their relationship. They decide to take a train to London where they
can stay with a distant family member of Helena and not have to worry about their parents
anymore. When they leave Demetrius, who is in love with Hermia, follows them, he himself is
followed by Lysander, who is in love with Demetrius. Also on the train to London is a group of
college theatre students who have been offered a chance to perform their school play in London,
as well as the owner of the train company, Oberon, and the leader of a small union of train staff,
Titania. The two are locked in negotiations over a wage increase and Oberon has come aboard
this train in order to fire anyone he sees not working. In protest Titania and the union shut down
the train in the middle of nowhere. When Oberon still refuses to increase pay, even to get the
train moving, Titania then tries something else. After nightfall she uses “magic” to cause Oberon
to fall in love with the next person he sees, who happens to be the college theatre student Nick
Bottom who had gotten lost on the train and was looking for his friends. After that Titania comes
across the 4 lovers asleep in one of the train cars. She mistakes the situation and causes both
Demetrius and Hermia to fall in love with Lysander. They fight due to this and all end up
sleeping by themselves the following night. Meanwhile Oberon and Nick Bottom continue their
“relationship”. Oberon has agreed to Titania’s terms so she releases him from the love magic, as
well as the lovers. With everything fixed the group all decide to go to London and watch the
theatre group’s play.
The main goal of my adaptation was to create a version of Midsummer Night's Dream that followed Shakespeare's original messages about freedom, love, and social barriers while updating the story to fit a modern audience. The first thing me and my partner chose to address with our adaptation was changing the exact relationship between the lovers. LGBT rights and acceptance is a topic that any modern member of society is well acquainted with, and much how Shakespeare used his original story to comment on the unfair balance of power between members of society, even when dealing with their own personal lives, we chose to do the same. Helena and Hermia's parents are the stressor in their lives causes them to run away and seek freedom, and their struggle against their parents follows the same spirit of Hermia and Lysander's original struggle against the patriarchal society of Athens. Continuing along the theme of subverting existing balances of power we've edited the classic conflict between Oberon and Titania. Rather than the standard conflict of Oberon tricking Titania in order to steal her child from her we've instead turned the tables, and had Titania use her magic on Oberon in order to break the traditional control that a manager tends to have over their workers. Titania stands up for and fights for proper conditions for workers that would not be obtained otherwise. Overall our entire adaptation was designed to portray themes of freedom and love and breaking barriers in a modern setting that anyone living in today's world could find relatable and meaningful.