Director

Rehearsal Diary

Set design

Costume design

On this page you can read about how Puck's costume was made and how the wardrobe team created special fabric for all the fairy costumes in the production (Fabric manipulation).

Click on the words in pink to enlarge the pictures.

Fabric manipulation

Mary Charlton (Head of Wardrobe) and Christopher Oram (Designer) decide that they would like to create special fabric for the costumes in the fairy world. Christopher's design for the immortal fairy world is harsh and black and spiky, and all of the costume designs have a 'ripped' feel to them.

Costume designs for: Titania, Fairy and Puck

Mary brings in Jyan Bean, textile specialist, for two days in the first week of rehearsals to work with the team in the theatre's Wardrobe Department, looking at ideas and creating samples of manipulated fabric.

After the samples are made, Christopher indicates which type he likes best and then the stitching, twisting, and manipulating of the fabric begins in earnest.

 Titania - fabric samples

Sample of fabric for Puck   

  Sample of fairy feathers

Titania's costume
Mary and Christopher have collected together beautiful yellows and oranges in nylon organzas, chiffon, silk dupion, together with feathers which are dyed.

  Fabric for Titania's costume

Christopher is keen that Titania's skirt has some bulk to it, so each strand of manipulated fabric is to hold its shape. These pieces of fabric are attached to a dyed yellow underskirt. Mary and Christopher bought the underskirt at a shop selling Japanese fashion in London.

Titania - underskirt

Many pieces of fabric are created and then these pieces will be stitched onto the underskirt. The bodice for Titania's costume is made as a separate piece.

Titania - fabric to stitch onto underskirt & Titania's bodice

Fairies' costumes
The jackets for the fairy costumes will be spiky like the foliage in the set design. They are made from feathers and broom bristles that are twisted and treated with PVA glue, shellac and enamel paints:

Fairy feathers

Once Christopher has approved the fabric samples, a mock-up of the jacket is made, inserting the wiring for the fairy lights:

Sample of fairy jacket

The costumes will now be completed and fitted to the actors who will be wearing them.

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PUCK'S COSTUME

Designer Christopher Oram has chosen to show a visual connection between the two characters played by Dylan Brown - Philostrate and Puck. Both characters are masters of the revels in their different worlds - the mortal world of the court and the immortal fairy world.

Puck

Philostrate

Puck will be painted with blue body paint and all of his 'magic' in the play is also blue. For example, when Bottom is turned into an ass, Christopher has decided his asses head will be blue:

Bottom Transformed

Christopher has drawn from images found in books and magazines to decide what he would like Puck to look like. He gives these images to the Head of Wardrobe, Mary Charlton, together with his drawn costume designs:

Victorian pucks

The fabric that Puck's trousers have been made of has been specially constructed. First a sample is made:

Puck sample fabric

This sample is shown to the designer. If he is happy with it, then the fabric for the whole costume is made:

Puck legs under construction ...

Dylan Brown as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, photograph by Ivan Kyncl

The fabric manipulation team:
Jyan Bean - trainer
Syl Devilly
Mandy Lock
Imogen Singer
Petra Huber
Angela Smith

Sophie Hunter, Education Projects Officer

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