A Midsummer Night's Dream 2026 | Blogs & features

Designing in the Globe Theatre is an exciting challenge because the theatre itself has a strong aesthetic identity – it’s a visual world in itself. We decided that our designs would complement the space but also develop over the course of the play. The world starts organised but grows, expands, and takes over the space with colour, nature and magic. We wanted to make the Globe bloom.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in Athens, and in this production, it’s an Athens of our own making and imagination. The concept for the set and costumes is the journey from order to something more natural and chaotic. The inspiration came from a Chanel 2015 Spring Summer runway, where automated white paper plants bloomed mechanically into colourful flowers.

A model of a wooden theatre with a wooden roof held up by red marble pillars, a green circular jetty with green steps and a round green platform with green steps. — Model box set design by Aldo Vázquez

People wearing green outfits, decorated with flowers, stand in a circle holding coloured strands that lead off of a colourful decoration hung mid-air. — Photograph of the Company by Helen Murray

We start in the back gardens of the Athenian mansion where preparations for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta are taking place. It’s a lush garden with topiary and sculptures, where flowers are used as decorations and hedges are manicured.

From here we journey to the forest, where there is a “wilding” of the theatre from man-trimmed nature into a place where things grow and bloom. And not just the environment – the real feelings of the characters bloom too.

A pregnant woman with dark hair, wearing a yellow satin suit and gown, sits on the edge of a green fountain. Crouching next to her and holding her hand is a man wearing a red satin suit and gown. — Photograph of Audrey Brisson and Enyi Okoronkwo by Helen Murray

The fashion styles in Athens are very different. The royals, Theseus and Hippolyta, wear clean lines colour-blocked in jewel tones, with trains, and sparkly jewellery. Their court has a conservative style, formal but with a bit of fun and colour. The lovers are young, vibrant spirits contained by layers and patterns.

A sketch of four people wearing multi-coloured, floral clothing. — Costume drawings by Aldo Vázquez

Three people stand together, holding hands. One is a mixed race non-binary person with short Afro/curly hair, one is a mixed-race white and Caribbean woman, also with Afro/curly hair, one is white Caucasian with blonde hair. — Photograph of Mel Lowe, Romaya Weaver and Sophie Cox by Helen Murray

The mechanicals – the group of amateur actors performing at the wedding – wear softer materials. Knits, cords, and garments that feel more like our own everyday world. The colour palette is more subdued, with browns and darker tones.

A sketch of five people wearing multi-coloured outfits. — Costume drawings by Aldo Vázquez

Five racially diverse people stand, each holding a hand into the centre and stacking them top of one another. — Photograph of the Company by Helen Murray

The forest is a camp, queer, gender-bending, freer world of greens and flowers. The costumes are embellished with flowers, metallics, and transparent and iridescent textures inspired by bug shells, wings and dew drops.

A sketch of six people wearing green costumes decorated with foliage, head-dresses and masks. — Costume drawings by Aldo Vázquez

A group of people dressed in green and decorated with flowers dance together on a wooden stage. One of them holds a baby. — Photograph of the Company by Helen Murray

Titania and Oberon, the Fairy Queen and King, are fighting over a changeling child, which affects anything related to the natural world. Titania’s fairies are a community, fluid, grounded and sensual. Oberon on the other hand is in colours resembling a pigeon, with different shapes to Titania and her fairies. Puck, Oberon’s servant, is a unique fairy. He’s in green so he can blend and change shape at will!

Sketches of two people. One is wearing a green outfit with a long green cape covered in flowers. The other wears a grey ruffled outfit. — Costume drawings by Aldo Vázquez

A woman wearing a dark green dress and a flower headdress stands and holds the arm of a Black man with short hair wearing a black and silver frilly costume. — Photograph of Audrey Brisson and Enyi Okoronkwo by Helen Murray

For the wedding, we see fun florals over white gowns and suits – glamour and colour all in one.

A mixed race, non binary person with short Afro hair and a white woman with blonde hair hold hands on stage, both wearing white. A person stands between them and ties a ribbon around their hands. — Photograph of Mel Lowe, Jason Battersby and Sophie Cox by Helen Murray

We want people to feel welcomed to the Globe, and excited to experience this story. Theatre at its core is an act of communion and togetherness. We want to make time together, create the story together, and celebrate.

What excites me most about this production is that you, the audience, will be part of the show. No show will be the same, because no audience will be the same! This makes telling the story more electrifying and meaningful as we will all be together in communal celebration. How can we not be, when there is a wedding and a play within a play!