An animal-eared performer stands alone under three white spotlights on the green floor of the two-level set.

The Ivy Arts Centre2024

A Midsummer Night's Dream

The Production

Guildford School of Acting's 2024 production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream brought the play's enchanted forest and comic transformations to the stage with design by Elliott Squire and movement by Rachel Birch Lawson.

44 photographs in the curated edit

Director: Jaq Bessell
Movement Director: Rachel Birch Lawson
Set & Costume Design: Elliott Squire
Sound Design: Eamonn O'Dwyer
Commissioned by: Guildford School of Acting
Photography: Steve Gregson

Two backstage crew members smile at a production console, with screens and stage equipment glowing in the dark control area.

An empty two-level white set is lit with red walls and mottled green floor light.

Two women in red and blue dresses face each other and hold hands beneath the white balcony set.

A woman in a red dress and a man in a grey suit kneel facing each other, holding hands on the green stage.

A woman in a mustard dress sits on the floor embracing a smiling woman in a red dress.

A red-haired performer in a mustard dress looks forward in a close portrait against the pale stage walls.

A fur-clad performer lunges across the green stage under sharp white beams and warm side light.

A braided performer in a fur-trimmed costume is caught in magenta and blue light, looking upward.

A wide stage view shows performers spaced across the green floor, arms raised beneath purple beams.

One fur-clad performer offers a small flower to another whose mouth is open in the blue-purple light.

Two fur-clad performers stand close together under blue and purple light, staring upward.

A performer in a long pale dress stands center stage while others crouch around her under misty beams.

A performer crawls forward on the green stage while another figure moves in the dim background between white columns.

An ensemble gathers in darkness holding bright flashlights that pick out faces and bodies on the stage.

Several performers crowd around a glowing handheld light, their faces illuminated in the surrounding darkness.

An animal-eared performer stands in a cone of white light as other figures watch from the shadowed stage.

A tight group of performers huddles at center stage beneath overhead beams, framed by red-lit doorways.

A performer in a ragged green costume looks outward in the foreground while a group clusters behind her.

Silhouetted performers appear inside red-lit doorways, surrounded by deep darkness and the white stage frame.

A blonde performer in a fur-trimmed costume poses with arms lifted behind her head against a dark doorway.

A kneeling man offers a small flower to a woman in a mustard dress on the green stage.

A woman in a red dress leans forward with a bright smile while two men stand tense behind her.

A man carries a woman in a red dress across the stage under a single overhead beam as another figure watches from the steps.

A fur-clad man holds a blonde performer by the face in a tense close encounter lit in blue and pink.

A man in a white shirt reaches upward as a fur-clad performer looms behind him in purple haze.

A warm wide tableau shows bodies lying across the green floor while a group sits in a red-lit doorway.

A performer in a green fur-trimmed costume sits upright with another performer lying across their lap.

A large ensemble spreads across the stage in colorful light, with bodies in motion and figures at different levels.

Performers rush and collide across the green stage under vivid blue, amber and magenta lighting.

A man stands center stage with hands on his head while several performers lie motionless around him.

A woman in a mustard dress faces a man with his back to the camera as another man watches behind her.

A man in a white shirt holds a red-haired woman close against a pale wall in an intimate side-lit moment.

Four performers gather in bright light, holding hands and smiling as they lean toward one another.

A group of performers bunches together in an exuberant embrace beneath banners on the balcony.

A bride and a uniformed groom kiss on the upper balcony, isolated against a plain pale wall.

A bride in glasses and veil speaks closely to a uniformed groom while holding a glass.

A performer stands behind a painted brick-wall prop with arms spread wide on the green stage.

A performer wearing a large spiked mask reaches outward from the shadows as another figure stands behind.

Two performers sweep a long golden cloth through the air, creating a bright arc across the dark green stage.

A costumed performer kneels with a toy sword raised while another carries fabric behind him.

A performer with a toy sword stands over a prone body while another person lies nearby on the green floor.

The ensemble lines the stage with raised arms under cool spotlights, with a crumpled costume or prop in the foreground.

Three costumed performers stand on the balcony rail in magenta and white light, looking down toward the stage.

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