''The Lovers'' is a musical by Laura Murphy based on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''.

Premise

''The Lovers'' is described as a fresh and magical pop-infused reimagining that refocuses the story with a modern perspective and questions our enduring search for true love.

Production

The original production was performed from 23 October to 20 November 2022 at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

, presented by

Bell Shakespeare Bell Shakespeare is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other classics. Founded by actor John Bell and based in Sydney, it is Australia's only national theatre company. Apart f ...

. Directed by Shaun Rennie, the original production featured a live four-piece band. It is the first musical performed by Bell Shakespeare. A new production, produced by shake & stir and

Queensland Performing Arts Centre The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (also known as QPAC) is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank precinct. Opened in 1985, it includes the Lyric Thea ...

in association with

Brisbane Festival Brisbane Festival is one of Australia's leading international arts festivals, and is held each September in Brisbane, Australia. Its presence dominates the city for three weeks in September and its line-up of classical and contemporary music, t ...

, is scheduled to perform at QPAC's Playhouse from 13 September to 5 October 2025, before transferring to Sydney's Theatre Royal from 31 October 2025. The cast includes Natalie Abbott as Helena, Jason Arrow as Demetrius, Jayme-Lee Hanekom as Puck, Loren Hunter as Hermia, Stellar Perry as Oberon, and Mat Verevis as Lysander.

Reception

The musical was generally well received, being described as "a thrilling piece of theatre" and "a great time".

Awards

It was nominated for Best Production of a Musical and Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical (Natalie Abbott) at the 2022

Sydney Theatre Awards The Sydney Theatre Awards are annual awards to recognise the strength, quality and diversity of professional theatre in Sydney, Australia. They were established in 2005 by a group of major Sydney theatre critics. The awards recognise mainstage and ...

Cast Recording

An album of the musical was released for streaming in July 2024 featuring the full original cast.

Musical numbers

Act I *"A Story About Love" – Oberon and the Lovers *"Love and Pop and Shakespeare" – Company and the Fairy Band *"Happy Be Theseus" – Company † *"Perfect Little Princess" – Company *"Overfull of Self Affairs" – Company † *"Start Over" – Lysander and Hermia *"Here Comes Helena" – Lysander, Hermia, and Helena † *"Chasing My Tail" – Helena *"Down To Love" – Oberon *"The Magic Touch" – Puck, Oberon, and the Fairy Band *"I Am Invisible" – Oberon † *"Helena Follows Her Nose" – Helena and Demetrius *"What I Cannot Have" – Demetrius, Helena, and the Fairy Band *"Chasing My Tail" (Reprise) – Helena and Oberon † *"Hast Thou The Flower There?" – Oberon and Puck *"Euphoria" – Oberon *"The Magic Touch" (Reprise) – Oberon and Puck † *"Wrap Around You" – Hermia, Lysander, and the Fairy Band *"Puck's Spell" – Puck *"What I Cannot Chase" – Helena and Demetrius *"Lysander Is In Love" – Lysander *"Keen Mockery" – Helena and Lysander † *"Hiss Hiss Bitch" – Snake and Snake Minions *"Cruel Prey" – Hermia, Snake, and Snake Minions † *"To Die For" – The Lovers Act II *"Down To Love" (Reprise) – Oberon, Puck, and the Fairy Band *"Gimme Gimme" – The Lovers *"Thou Hast Mistaken Quite" – Oberon, Puck, Demetrius, and Hermia *"Euphoria" (Reprise) – Oberon *"What I Cannot Have" (Reprise) – Demetrius *"Oberon's Spell" – Oberon *"Gimme Gimme" (Reprise) – Oberon, Puck, Lysander, and Helena *"Demetrius Is In Love" – Demetrius *"Gimme Gimme A Boy Fight" – The Lovers *"Injurious Hermia!" – The Lovers and Snake *"Diss Diss Bitch" – Company *"How To Love" – Company *"Start Over" (Reprise) – The Lovers *"Down To Love" (Finale) – Company and the Fairy Band † Not included on the original cast recording

Principal cast

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovers, The 2022 musicals 2020s Australian musicals Musicals based on plays Plays and musicals based on A Midsummer Night's Dream Musicals set in Greece