From Nov. 19-23, CAPA will present William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Although it’s one of the playwright’s classic stories, this version will be unlike anything Columbus has seen before.

Commissioned by the British Council and directed by Tim Supple, this production was cast with actors, dancers, martial arts experts, musicians and street acrobats from India and Sri Lanka. They will deliver the dialogue in a bevy of languages, including English, Tamil, Malayalam, Sinhalese, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi and even Sanskrit.

“It’s a very sensual and physical presentation which captures the energy and frenzied mayhem of Shakespeare’s storyline, while engaging and thoroughly charming the audience,” says Rolanda Copley, publicist for CAPA.

Fans of Shakespeare’s love story will witness a stylistic interpretation, but not a dramatic altering of the original plot. The unconventional multilingual script will not create a barrier to understanding, as half of the dialogue is in English.

The physicality of the performance revolves around several different forms of traditional Indian dance, as well as aerial acrobatics and martial arts.

“This is Midsummer with a twist on the presentation. Audiences can expect a very physical, sensual, downright gorgeous presentation,” Copley says. “This is truly a one-of-a-kind production which only comes around once in a lifetime.”

For more information or tickets, visit www.capa.com.   

- Alicia Kelso