Queensland Ballet has opened their 2016 mainstage season with a stunning rendition of Shakespeare’s classic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a co-production between the Queensland company and Royal New Zealand Ballet.

The story itself is over 400 years old, but Liam Scarlett’s choreography is anything but stale. With ambitious choreography that often borders on acrobatics, Scarlett has created a vibrant work every bit as witty and genuinely funny as Shakespeare’s original script.

The ballet follows two simultaneous, intersecting plot lines. First, there is the story of Titania, Queen of the Fairies, as she fights over a Changeling child against Oberon, the King of the Fairies, and his apprentice, the sprite Puck. Secondly, the ballet follows the antics of a band of explorers, led by the lovers Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius. As Puck uses a magic flower to interfere with the feelings of the four explorers, a complicated love triangle and comedy of errors ensues.

Victor Estevez and Laura Hidalgo

The dark, multi-layered sets were a performance in themselves, bringing the audience deep into the magical woods. Designed, along with the exquisite costumes, by Tracy Grant Lord and...