When a love-struck teenager is forced to choose between certain death or a life lived as a lie, there’s only one real option: flee to the forest. In the Birmingham Rep’s latest production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, that forest is a messy, neon-lit escape where boundaries blur and the music never stops.
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| Lottie Beck Johnson in rehearals. Photo by Manuel Harlan. |
As the seasons spiral into climate chaos and relationships sour under the moonlight, the cast navigates a world that is as beautiful as it is volatile. Joining us today is Lottie Beck Johnson, who plays Starveling and Cobweb in this vibrant, pop-fueled retelling. We’re diving into the creative process, the importance of queer joy in the classic arts, and what happens when a romantic comedy leaves you thinking… what the Puck?!
What can you tell me about this production and your roles within the production?
This production is a super modern take of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s got a really loveable queer storyline, amazing new music by Adam Carver as well as some 80’s bangers, it also massively draws on the impact of climate change, and obviously there is the comedic plot everyone knows and loves made even more hilarious! It’s also told specifically through a Brummie lens, with scenes taking place in well-known parts of Birmingham, like the Rag Market. I’ll be playing Starveling, one of the Mechanicals putting on a show for Duke Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding, as well as Cobweb, when the fairy world is unveiled. I’m also covering the roles of Hermia, Helena, and Lysandra, the lovers who get lost in the forest and end up in their own chaos!
This production is a super modern take of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s got a really loveable queer storyline, amazing new music by Adam Carver as well as some 80’s bangers, it also massively draws on the impact of climate change, and obviously there is the comedic plot everyone knows and loves made even more hilarious! It’s also told specifically through a Brummie lens, with scenes taking place in well-known parts of Birmingham, like the Rag Market. I’ll be playing Starveling, one of the Mechanicals putting on a show for Duke Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding, as well as Cobweb, when the fairy world is unveiled. I’m also covering the roles of Hermia, Helena, and Lysandra, the lovers who get lost in the forest and end up in their own chaos!
You were selected through an open casting call for this production. Can you describe the moment you found out you’d be making your professional debut at the Birmingham Rep?
When I found out I was going to be making my professional debut at the Rep, I was buzzing! I had such a positive friendly audition experience and felt so welcomed! To have the opportunity of an open call meant so much to me, they’re so important for accessibility and it’s helped me enter the industry and start off my career in the most amazing job, which I couldn’t be more grateful for! I’m so lucky to be working with such a lovely, supportive cast and company.
Having performed with the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) in the past, how does the experience of a professional rehearsal room at The Rep compare to your training?
NYMT was such incredible preparation for the industry and taught me so much about the rehearsal process in putting on a show. Being treated as professionals and working with amazing creatives working in the industry, and performing in respected theatres gave me the knowledge and tools to be ready for my first professional job. I also got the opportunity to be part of the creation of some new musicals with NYMT, with the rehearsal rooms being very collaborative and relying on teamwork to bring the shows to life. These kinds of skills NYMT teaches you are so valuable and are so applicable to being able to work in a professional rehearsal room.
NYMT was such incredible preparation for the industry and taught me so much about the rehearsal process in putting on a show. Being treated as professionals and working with amazing creatives working in the industry, and performing in respected theatres gave me the knowledge and tools to be ready for my first professional job. I also got the opportunity to be part of the creation of some new musicals with NYMT, with the rehearsal rooms being very collaborative and relying on teamwork to bring the shows to life. These kinds of skills NYMT teaches you are so valuable and are so applicable to being able to work in a professional rehearsal room.
This production is described as Made in Birmingham. As a local actor, how does it feel to launch your career in a venue that is so central to your own community?
It feels really special to me! I used to come to the Rep when I was in primary school on school trips and it’s so wild to me that I’ve gone full circle and now will be making my debut in a place where my love of theatre properly started. To be so close to home is also so magical and I can’t wait to share this show with my friends and family.
It feels really special to me! I used to come to the Rep when I was in primary school on school trips and it’s so wild to me that I’ve gone full circle and now will be making my debut in a place where my love of theatre properly started. To be so close to home is also so magical and I can’t wait to share this show with my friends and family.
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| Photo by Manuel Harlan. |
Shakespeare’s language can be intimidating. How did you work with directors Joe Murphy and Madeleine Kludje to find a balance between the classical verse and the "distinctively Birmingham" accents and slang used in this version?
Yes, Shakespeare’s language can absolutely be intimidating but Joe and Maddi did an amazing job at helping us work through the text, understand it and then communicate it in a way that is accessible to us as actors and the audience, with our own accents and slang only adding to the text.
Yes, Shakespeare’s language can absolutely be intimidating but Joe and Maddi did an amazing job at helping us work through the text, understand it and then communicate it in a way that is accessible to us as actors and the audience, with our own accents and slang only adding to the text.
You play both Starveling the tailor and Cobweb the fairy. How do you physically and vocally differentiate between the grounded, comedic world of the Mechanicals and the ethereal, neon rave world of the fairies?
The rehearsal process really helped us with differentiating our characters. Through working the scenes, the two worlds our characters live in came to life. I understand it as the fairy world being an extension of the real world the mechanicals are in, so the two characters we play are almost an extension of each other, but the fairy world is a more heightened and magical version.
The rehearsal process really helped us with differentiating our characters. Through working the scenes, the two worlds our characters live in came to life. I understand it as the fairy world being an extension of the real world the mechanicals are in, so the two characters we play are almost an extension of each other, but the fairy world is a more heightened and magical version.
In both worlds, the mechanicals and the fairies are at the bottom of the pack, and constantly working, whether it’s to put on a show or to serve Oberon and carry out his wishes. The mechanicals show this through their bumbling efforts and physical comedy with the text written mainly in prose, so they speak more conversationally, whilst the fairies speak in verse, and their sass and ethereal nature is shown through their music and movement, which our movement director and choreographer, Asha Jennings-Grant, massively helped us discover.
Starveling is often the "straight man" or the most reluctant of the Mechanicals. How have you and the directors (Joe Murphy and Madeleine Kludje) approached the comedy in the Pyramus and Thisbe play-within-a-play?
Yes, Starveling is definitely more reluctant and timid, but not for want of trying! This is hilariously show in the play-within-a-play when they get stage fright and refuse to go on stage! Starveling also massively looks up to Bottom, who very confidently is playing Pyramus, so a lot of Starveling’s funny moments come from this relationship as the play-within-a-play is performed.
This version of the forest is described as an "enchanted neon rave." How does that high-energy, pulsating environment influence your performance as Cobweb?
We have such incredible new music which really brings the neon rave and chaos of the forest to life, and this in turn fuels us fairies, specifically in moments when spells are cast or magic is taking place, which is then expressed through our movement and physicality.
We have such incredible new music which really brings the neon rave and chaos of the forest to life, and this in turn fuels us fairies, specifically in moments when spells are cast or magic is taking place, which is then expressed through our movement and physicality.
The production draws parallels to modern culture, even referencing things like Love Island. How do you think this distinctively Birmingham setting helps make Shakespeare feel more accessible to younger audiences?
Hopefully the younger audiences will see themselves reflected in the show, as like you said, it is distinctively Birmingham and follows these teenage lovers through stuff that everyone can relate to: the drama of relationships!
Hopefully the younger audiences will see themselves reflected in the show, as like you said, it is distinctively Birmingham and follows these teenage lovers through stuff that everyone can relate to: the drama of relationships!
You’re working alongside a mix of seasoned actors and fellow debutants. What has been the most valuable piece of advice you’ve picked up from your castmates during rehearsals?
The cast are truly incredible, I’m honestly in awe of them every time I step into the rehearsal room. I’m constantly learning from them and trying to soak in all their amazing advice, even watching them work is awesome in itself! Coming from a musical theatre background, it’s been really useful seeing people’s processes and also learning that everyone does things differently. A big thing I’ll take away is giving myself the liberty to be silly and unapologetic because the rehearsal room is such a safe place to discover new things and the support we all give each other is invaluable!
The cast are truly incredible, I’m honestly in awe of them every time I step into the rehearsal room. I’m constantly learning from them and trying to soak in all their amazing advice, even watching them work is awesome in itself! Coming from a musical theatre background, it’s been really useful seeing people’s processes and also learning that everyone does things differently. A big thing I’ll take away is giving myself the liberty to be silly and unapologetic because the rehearsal room is such a safe place to discover new things and the support we all give each other is invaluable!
This production involved a competition for local students to design fairy costumes. What was it like seeing those designs come to life, and how does your costume help you get into character?
Amazing, honestly! The fact that a student will get to see their costume design on stage is so special. The fairy costumes look incredible and are so detailed and magical. Carl Davies, our set and costume designer, has done an amazing job bring the fairies to life, we even have wings! Speaking of, the day we got to start wearing our wings was so funny, we suddenly had to get used to how much space we took up! But it was also so helpful, with the costumes just adding that extra layer in bringing our characters to life.
Amazing, honestly! The fact that a student will get to see their costume design on stage is so special. The fairy costumes look incredible and are so detailed and magical. Carl Davies, our set and costume designer, has done an amazing job bring the fairies to life, we even have wings! Speaking of, the day we got to start wearing our wings was so funny, we suddenly had to get used to how much space we took up! But it was also so helpful, with the costumes just adding that extra layer in bringing our characters to life.
What was the first piece of theatre you remember having a big impact on you?
I’m a massive musical theatre lover, so the first show I think I ever saw was Annie at the Everyman in Cheltenham, when I was 4, and I remember the feeling of wanting to be up on the stage with them. It was also really memorable because the man in the row in front started chatting to us, little did I know at the time he was the composer of Annie, Charles Strouse! I have a vague recollection that I gave him an 8 bar cut of ‘Tomorrow’…I’m mortified!!
I’m a massive musical theatre lover, so the first show I think I ever saw was Annie at the Everyman in Cheltenham, when I was 4, and I remember the feeling of wanting to be up on the stage with them. It was also really memorable because the man in the row in front started chatting to us, little did I know at the time he was the composer of Annie, Charles Strouse! I have a vague recollection that I gave him an 8 bar cut of ‘Tomorrow’…I’m mortified!!
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| Photo by Manuel Harlan |
What gives you inspiration?
I try as much as possible to go and see live theatre, because it gives me such massive inspiration and reminds me of why I love performing! Seeing my friends on stage is also so inspiring as we all know how hard we work to have this career, and the payoff is amazing!
I try as much as possible to go and see live theatre, because it gives me such massive inspiration and reminds me of why I love performing! Seeing my friends on stage is also so inspiring as we all know how hard we work to have this career, and the payoff is amazing!
Also, the cast that I’m surrounded by on A Midsummer Night’s Dream are the most inspirational people, they bring so much talent and hard work to the rehearsal room, it’s hard not to be inspired!
When the curtain rises on opening night, what is the one thing you hope the Birmingham audience takes away from this specific version of the Dream?
I hope they feel like they’ve had a really fun night out, see themselves reflected in the show and feel like Shakespeare is for them too!
I hope they feel like they’ve had a really fun night out, see themselves reflected in the show and feel like Shakespeare is for them too!
A Midsummer Night's Dream runs at Birmingham Rep from Saturday 25th April until Sunday 24th May 2026. Tickets are available from https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/
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