A 'Midsummer' Edge

In William Shakespeare’s time, men acted every role on stage—from Othello and Romeo to Desdemona and Juliet.

But it is not Shakespeare’s time anymore.

These days, stages across the globe are dominated more and more by women, explained HITFest founder Joshua Perl. And his upcoming production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which was written in the late 16th century, follows in the footsteps of the recent trend that leads classic plays down a modern and edgy slope.

“Shakespeare used to be done exclusively by men for about 70 years, and nobody minded,” Mr. Perl said during an interview last week at a shady picnic table on the lawn behind Bridgehampton School, where the outdoor play will premiere this weekend. “It didn’t bother anybody. And then I had this idea, because I knew there are more talented women doing Shakespeare than men, to ignore gender.”

“And it’s topical, too,” actress Clodagh Bowyer added. “It’s definitely in the air, to try to push the envelope a little bit. But if anything, there’s just so much enchantment and magic and fairies. There’s love, there’s big characters. Even if you’re not understanding the language, you’ll be fascinated with the scenes, the sets, the interplay between all the characters. The passion.”

The play features three interlocking plots all connected by the marriage of Duke Theseus of Athens and Amazon Queen Hippolyta, who will be portrayed by Gerard Doyle and Ms. Bowyer, respectively. Traditionally male characters, including Lysander, Demetrius, Egeus, Nick Bottom and Puck, will be played by women.

“I’m really comprehending Shakespeare in a different way,” Ms. Bowyer, who splits her time between Sagaponack and Manhattan, mused. “I love Hippolyta. I love her. It requires, for me, courage to unveil and really go there. She’s very sensual and all the woman that I’d love to be. She’s very erotic and owns herself with no apology. A bit of a dictator, which I think would be nice to be around the house a little bit. And she’s got a posse. She tells them what to do and no one can say no to her.”

As is common with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Mr. Doyle and Ms. Bowyer will also play Oberon, king of the fairies, and Titania, his queen. Outside Athens, the play is simultaneously following the plot lines of the fairies and the mechanicals, an acting troupe, and is set in the woodlands and the realm of Fairyland under the light of the moon, as well as in Bridgehampton.

“The idea would be that the mechanicals in our play are setting up the show for the nobles of the Hamptons,” Mr. Perl explained. “So it’s a play within a play within a play, but we’re also letting the people in on the idea that we are putting on a play because, believe it or not, when you go to see a play, you’re trying to forget that it’s a play.”

“Suspended disbelief,” Ms. Bowyer added. “I’m having such a blast, maybe the most fun I’ve ever had with a show. And I just need it. It fills me up.”

That means a lot, especially coming from a woman whose earliest memories are of her father, Brendan Bowyer, an Irish singer best known for fronting The Royal Showband, on stage in Las Vegas.

“Oh, I tried everything else. I just couldn’t not do it,” she said of acting. “I did have a teacher once tell the class, ‘Look, if there’s anything else you can do, do it.’ Because it has its challenges. I think it’s an awesome profession, but I think it’s partially in my blood. My whole family, we’re all actors. My father’s parents, his mother was the first Carmen. She toured all over. Growing up in Vegas maybe had something to do with it. All my friends’ parents were entertainers or affiliated with The Strip.”

While it was accepted for Ms. Bowyer to go into show business, it wasn’t for Mr. Doyle, who hailed from a working-class family in England, though his parents are originally from Ireland—not far from where Ms. Bowyer spent much of her childhood.

He got a late start, he said, though at age 13, he knew he would eventually become an actor. It was during his school’s production of “The Makings of a Gentleman” more than 40 years ago.

“Once I recognized how comfortable and how inspired I felt on stage, it was always going to be that, but I never quite got it together,” Mr. Doyle said. “I went to drama school at 27. When I did my first Shakespeare, which was ‘The Tempest,’ at age 31, I started to realize how important my Irish heritage was, that I hadn’t focused on so much. But whenever I was stuck with a line of Shakespeare, I’d simply do it in an Irish accent, and it really helped.”

Throughout his career, Mr. Doyle has graced stages around the world. But now, much of his time is spent as director of Ross School’s Theater Program when he’s not recording audiobooks at his home studio in Sag Harbor. He has done 160 audio books since 2001, including his work on Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle series, from which “Eragon” was made into a film six years ago.

“He’s a, how can I put it, a very clever young man,” Mr. Doyle said of Mr. Paolini. “He invents languages. His editor was telling me, for the second book, ‘I just want to let you know, you owe me a big bottle of wine.’ I said, ‘Why?’ She said, ‘I’ve taken out a whole play he wrote.’”

Mr. Doyle paused for effect.

“‘In Dwarvish!’” he finished. “Dwarvish, it’s got a real guttural sound. She didn’t get a bottle of wine, but she does have my eternal gratitude.”

While the stage will be free of any made-up languages, audiences should be prepared for a little bit of an Irish twist, Ms. Bowyer said.

“We’ll be having a blast,” she said.

“Oh, I think so,” Mr. Doyle laughed.

“It will be a good ride for everybody involved,” Ms. Bowyer said. “It’s perfect for the Hamptons.”

HITFest will perform “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” from Thursday, August 2, through Sunday, August 5, at 7 p.m., each night, on the lawn behind the Bridgehampton School. Additional performances will be held through Sunday, August 19. Tickets are $20. For more information, call 525-2995 or visit hitfest.org.