The fairy king and queen have a marital disagreement causing chaos in the mortal realm. Sound familiar? Shakespeare was not averse to adapting his sources, and here children's author Charles Way makes an enterprising job of transforming A Midsummer Night's Dream into a magical, mid-winter adventure.
The Dream is the one plot Shakespeare is generally credited with inventing himself, which allows Way ample scope to give it a twist. Dummling and Boris are simple woodcutter's sons with broad Mancunian accents, and though Boris is the strongest of the two, he's terrified of going out into the woods because of the "furries". There's some initial confusion as to why such a strapping lad should be worried about small woodland creatures, until it becomes apparent that a "furry" is what they call Puck, Tinkerbell and their like in Salford.
Way scatters Shakespearean allusions to keep the grown-ups chuckling, but the most inspired moments are all his own - such as an encounter with a barmy physicist who claims to be an "un-inventor", ridding the world of evils such as atom bombs and teachers. Way directs his script with great aplomb and the cast invests the characters with considerable substance. Clap your hands if you believe in furries.
· Until January 13. Box office: 0161-236 7110.
