‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ @ Union Arts Center

From high school readers to theater enthusiasts and die-hard fans of the bard, audiences may think they know “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” But this winter, Union Arts Center invites us all to look again.

UAC’s take on Shakespeare’s most popular comedy moves quickly from the clean lines of Athens into a forest that feels damp, dark and alive. It’s a place where rules loosen, instincts take over and the night has a will of its own.

Four young lovers flee the city in pursuit of freedom. What they find instead is chaos. Love potions misfire. Power shifts. Faeries interfere. Someone becomes a donkey. The night is funny, unsettling and charged, and nothing about it feels entirely safe.

While the play still delivers big laughs, this “Midsummer” leans into the tension beneath the humor. The forest becomes a space where impulses surface and certainty slips away. The dream seduces, but it does not protect.

As morning approaches and order begins to return, the questions linger. What changes when the night is over? What follows you back into the daylight?

Not all dreams last forever.

Union Arts Center presents live theater in downtown Seattle, home of ACT Contemporary Theatre and Seattle Shakespeare Company.