A Midsummer's Night Dream can be seen at the Hawthorne Theatre in Welwyn Garden City in March

WILLIAM Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream plays at the Hawthorne Theatre in Welwyn Garden City next month.

HERMIA loves Lysander and Lysander adores Hermia.

But Demetrius desires Hermia, while Helena dotes on Demetrius.

It’s a story that has all the makings of a farce – and when you add in the king of the fairies and his mischievous Puck, comedy is assured.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s best loved and most performed plays.

Most productions focus upon the Dream part of the title, presenting a wild land of magic and the fey, while others highlight the idea of Midsummer, a light and balmy time of fun.

But a new production from the celebrated Sell a Door Theatre Company – appearing at the Hawthorne Theatre next month – takes a different approach.

They take that oft-ignored missing word – Night – as their starting point.

A time of darkness, when things are not always what they seem; of furtiveness and secret assignations; of spirits and dark magics.

Yes, there is still comedy and a happy ending, but the path towards it may not be as bright as usual, with music and madness playing their part in the overall tale.

With A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the produces have taken a well-known text and opened it up to new interpretation whilst retaining that much-loved quality that audiences expect.

Sell a Door Theatre Company presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Campus West, in Welwyn Garden City, on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2.

Performances starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are £16.50, and £14.50 in advance.