WIMBLEDON fortnight is here, and so are mixed doubles on the grass of York. Play starts on Thursday in Museum Gardens, where Stagecoach Youth Theatre York presents A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Shakespeare comedy with the highest count of romantic mix-ups.

John Cooper's company hopes to match the success of its 'Dream' production of six years ago. "That open-air show was recognised as a watershed in Stagecoach's work," says John. "It spawned talent such as Chris Hatliff, who is now a drama and English teacher in a Derbyshire Secondary School, and many others."

The 2002 production retains notable features from the first version. The Hospitium again forms the backdrop for Theseus's palace, while the surrounding banks and trees of Museum Gardens become the forest through which the confused lovers and bawdy Mechanicals are misled by the mischievous fairies. The costumes of the court remain Elizabethan in design and the text is faithful to the original apart from minor deletions.

There will be differences too.

"The new-generation cast is nearly double the size of the first one," says John. "When I announced my intention to stage the play a second time, the audition applicants came flooding in, and so the production is now almost completely double cast with even the fairies taking turns to lead their Queen and Bottom to the grassy bower."

The new takes the place of the old in the casting of the Indian Prince, "the changeling". Six years ago Titania's adopted charge was played by Fatima Zannar; next week the changeling role will be performed by Fatima's six-year-old sister, Ruksaad, who was not born at the time of the first production.

Those who saw the 1996 production may recall the fairy costumes, described by this newspaper's reviewer as "seriously sexy". "This time we've seriously updated the wardrobes of Oberon and Titania, which promise to raise a few eyebrows, if not temperatures, in York's favourite outdoor venue," says John.

Stagecoach is known for pushing boundaries and taking risks. No wonder 16-year-old Anna Holbek, who plays one of the production's two Titanias, had a twinkle in her eye when she said: "This production has revealed Shakespeare in a whole new dimension to me. I'd little idea of the extent of the passion in the piece and it's all mixed in with outrageous comedy."

A Midsummer Night's Dream plays in the Museum Gardens from Thursday to Saturday, then July 11 to 13. All performances are at 7.30pm, and audiences are encouraged to bring rugs and chairs. Admission is by the Marygate entrance; tickets cost £7, concessions £4.50, available from York Theatre Royal, tel 01904 623568, or at the gate.

Updated: 10:11 Friday, June 28, 2002