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For its 25th anniversary, the Bonn University Shakespeare Company is proud to present two of Shakespeare’s fairy tales: ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. These two plays are two sides of the same coin: Presented back to back as well as on separate evenings, they share actors, lines, and the same stage to show all that fairy tales are: the glittering spectacle of song and dance on the one hand, and the lies we tell ourselves in the face of unbearable choices on the other. While A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM celebrates the happy ending we all want to believe in, ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL looks behind the rose-tinted glasses to go where it hurts.
Two star-crossed lovers run away together into a forest near Athens. Little do they know of the magical creatures living in there, whose king and queen are in a quarrel that imbalances nature. By enchanting the lovers and the fairy queen, one servant turns the whole story upside down creating one of Shakespeare’s most romantic and mischievous comedies.
Helena loves Bertram. She is just a girl, he is the Prince of the realm. Her best friend Parolles warns her off. And yet, she is determined that nothing shall stand in her way: She will have her happily ever after. But what starts out as a fairy tale plot might not be all that it seems, and there is a cost to every happy ending…