As is often the case in the works of William Shakespeare, love is a major theme in Midsummer Night’s Dream. Written in 1595 by the well-known English poet, this story tells the tale of the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta the former queen of the Amazons.
The story chronicles four Athenians who have run away to the forest only to have Puck, a servant of Oberon, the King of the Fairies, create a magic potion that will make them fall in love with the first person they see!
Thematically, Shakespeare explores the ideas of what love is as well as how appearance and reality take a role in that. He also delves into the concepts of order versus disorder. These themes emerge as the audience meets the four main characters: Helena, who is hopelessly in love with Demetrius; Demetrius, who is in love with Hermia; Hermia who is in the process of escaping from her father’s arranged marriage with Demetrius; and Lysander who is trying to elope with Hermia.
The four characters run through the forest pursuing each other while devious Puck helps his master play a trick on the fairy queen. When Oberon demands that Puck uses the potion on Demetrius, hilarity ensues as Puck accidentally uses the potion on the wrong couples causing confusion and absolute chaos in the forest. In the end, Puck reverses the magic, and the two couples reconcile and marry.
Backdrops for Midsummer Night’s Dream
Most of this play, one of Shakespeare’s most popular works, takes place in the forest where the young couples roam and the fairies play tricks on them. Backdrops By Charles Stewart offers more than 22 backdrops appropriate for a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream, but here are several of our favorites. To view all of the options, please visit our suggestions page.
You can almost picture Puck here in the Forest Backdrop #2510 as he plays devious tricks on the Athenian couples. The thick forest vegetation and lush foliage give the appearance of many hiding spots for the fairies to play tricks.
This Garden Backdrop #2278 creates a Grecian-style atmosphere with Athenian columns and pink flowers. The Colonnade is the perfect place to introduce our two couples and the King of the Fairies.
Yet another Garden Backdrop # 2336 shows more of a Tuscan-style garden with flowers, a stone wall, and arborvitae trees.
To explore more options for your production, visit Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart and search the Midsummer Night’s Dream page.
