Christian House plays Lysander in Hard Ticket Theatre's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is being performed at N.L. Stone Gardens in Pynn's Brook until late August. (Troy Turner/CBC)

A Corner Brook theatre company is serving its latest production of Shakespeare on the rocks — literally.

Hard Ticket Theatre is performing A Midsummer Night's Dream at the N.L. Stone Gardens in Pynn's Brook, just east of Pasadena — a flagstone quarry that not only features a massive collection of sedimentary rock, but an eclectic array of vegetation, too.

Christian House, who plays Lysander, one of the young lovers in the famous comedy, says the unique setting for the play brings the audience into Shakespeare's world.

"You are incorporated in Shakespeare's vision of what he wanted," said House, a Corner Brook theatre student.

"You're not sitting down in a theatre and kind of seeing, not a two-dimensional piece of work, but you get a little bit more interaction with what's going on."

Musicians — including Dan Bursey and Matheus Da Silva, above — play a large part in A Midsummer Night's Dream. (Troy Turner/CBC)

Much of the play is set in a forest that lies beyond the walls of Athens, Greece, which is said to be under the rule of mischievous fairies.

It's also a place where social norms break down and anarchy ensues.

Unlikely setting

This is House's third time doing the play, but his first in such an unlikely setting.

"You get to play around with the nature of the play," he said. "You get to roll around in the grass. You get to hide behind trees ... you get better circumstance, better stakes out here."

Even the entrance to the N.L. Stone Gardens looks to be on the edge of an enchanted forest during Shakespearean times. (Troy Turner/CBC)

Director Ken Jacobsen was first approached about doing Dream by Hard Ticket founder Mark Bradbury, who was looking to bring more family-friendly theatre to the area.

Familiar with the grounds at Stone Gardens, Jacobsen said when he began exploring the outdoor space, he realized he'd only seen a portion of it.

'A kind of enchanted forest'

Now he's incorporated that space into a show that travels throughout the area, and allows audiences to get lost in their splendour.

"Most of the play takes place in an enchanted forest and this place is a kind of enchanted forest," he said.

"It's really a natural thing ... for the audience move around, to be immersed in the forest and to kind of encounter the actors at different stations, different environments, all the all the way through."

Olivia Basha, left, Christian House and Meaghan Collins (back on) rehearse a scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream in Pynn's Brook. (Troy Turner/CBC)

He added that's an improvement on stage productions "where you're always in one spot."

While the play is set in the late 1500s, Jacobsen decided to have some fun with his version. Hard Ticket's Dream takes place in the 1950s and '60s, complete with music from the era and and the teen lovers taking inspiration from the classic Archie comic book series.

Mike Payne and Anne Gregory rehearse A Midsummer Night's Dream. (Troy Turner/CBC)

Family will be the focus throughout, he added, as the play gets children involved by having some adopt characters during the performance.

Podcast: Newfoundland Morning takes a tour of a whimsical take on A Midsummer Night's Dream

"We wanted something that people would never forget — something different that they'd never seen before," he said.

"I use the analogy of Pixar movies. I love Pixar movies. They work on many different levels. They work for adults and they work for kids and everybody in between ... What we're aspiring to in this show is that people will come away saying that that was a really rich experience for all of us."

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