Dream World is a South African romantic comedy television series which began life as a miniseries adapted from A Midsummer Night's Dream and produced by Bridget Pickering of Fireworx Media as part of the SABC1 "Shakespeare in Mzansi" strand, a collection of miniseries which contemporise various works of Shakespeare into a South African context.
It is the sixth of six mini-series in the strand. The others are Entabeni (Macbeth), Izingane zoBaba (King Lear), uGugu no Andile (Romeo and Juliet), Death of a Queen (also Macbeth) and Forced Love (The Taming of the Shrew).
The series originally aired on SABC1 from 11 October to 1 November, 2012, on Thursdays at 20h30, with four hour-long episodes. Although intended as a four-hour miniseries it was revived in 2015 for a second season consisting of 13 half-hour episodes.
Dream World is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It watches four young lovers as they face several comedic challenges on the way to true love.
At the beginning of the mini-series, the most stable of the couple is due to marry, while the others are at various stages of infatuation. Due to the intensity of midsummer madness, some jealousy (and perhaps a bit of magic), these lovers find themselves inexplicably tempted to betray their partners.
Love in South Africa seems to follow much the same path. Faithfulness and commitment take second place to excitement and variety, and it is the rare relationship that goes the distance.
Dream World follows four couples, locked into a tango in which the partners constantly switch. This dance of desire will be familiar to the youthful South Africa - who amongst them hasn't been swept along by infatuation? And who hasn't felt as if they've stepped into a dream?
Dream World takes place in a predominantly artificial world located within the hospitality industry. The setting is Dream World, an all-in-one estate that offers accommodation, conferencing and banqueting, a health and beauty spa, promotional venues, and even an open-air outdoor theatre, located in a beautiful wooded are on the extensive property.
Contemporary life often feels contrived and reality is easy to confuse with the potted, theme- park version of reality. Nowhere is this more so than on a glamorous estate where there is leisure time for pampering, and a person can get lost in the magic of flirtation and romance.
Those who are looking for something more lasting, however, might find this environment challenging...
This is a world where people are actively seeking diversion and strange liaisons are made to be broken. At Dream World, the clientele's mouth is working overtime, while their bodies are on vacation. It's not surprising that the staff on the estate might be lead astray...
Hearts are broken and dreams are dashed, and the central section of the mini-series sees the couples swapping partners as if they were to be sampled.
A Midsummer Night's Dream pokes fun at the fickleness of human love. The play is essentially an ensemble piece with various protagonists, most of whom, fall in and out of love at the top of a hat.
The single constant is a royal couple who are about to celebrate their wedding. While this couple has reached a level of maturity in their relationship, the other characters lead each other on a merry dance, constantly changing their minds and allegiances.
The cast of Season 1 includes Lungelo Dhladhla as Hlengiwe, Pope Jerrod as Orion, Jafta Mamabolo as Lindelani, Kgomotso Matsunyane as Neli, Lala Tuku as Tholakele, Lindani Nkosi as Baba, Bubu Mazibuko as Nobuntu, Leti Ndubane as Rosie and Phumi Mncayi as Ndumiso.
The cast of Season 2 includes Lungelo Dhladhla as Hlengiwe Khumalo, Wandile Molebatsi as Lindelani, MoMo Matsunyane as Neli, Phumi Mncayi as Ndumiso, Leti Ndubane as Rosie and Lindani Nkosi as Baba Khumalo.