California Costumes Men's William Shakespeare Adult Sized Costumes

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Leave things open to interpretation – once you have an idea don’t tell people exactly what you are doing but hint at certain things and let people draw their own conclusions. For example, the Ladies’ court dresses are classical and elegant- the colours chosen for them are rich purples and reds. However, the corseting reveals a restrictive element, suggesting the strained morality of Leontes’ court (image 1). The similar designs but different colours of Peggy Ashcroft’s costumes as Paulina highlight her wise and stable presence. Perdita’s ‘shepherdess’ costume suggests the sense of pastoral romance in Bohemia (image 2). Peggy Ashcroft was an actor who worked extensively with the RSC throughout her career and one of our paintings, by Ethel Leonine Gabain, depicts her as the infamous character, Juliet. It shows her in an orange velvet dress she wore in 1935, one of many dresses we have that she has worn that we also have in our Costume Collection. The creation of costume in this production of Macbeth has used symbolism. Symbolist costumes are more interested in communicating an idea to the audience than in representing real life. Symbolism allows the designer to create costumes that they think represents the key themes of the play or key ideas about the characters. Shakespeare, W., 1606 (this edn. 2015) Macbeth, third Arden edn. Ed. by Clark, S. and Mason, P. London: Bloomsbury, p.321-324.

One of our most recognisable paintings is The Weird Sisters: Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3 by Henry Fuseli, 1783. A painting which explores the supernatural world in which Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is set. It shows an opening scene, where three witches, or weird sisters, foretell the character Macbeth’s future as king.A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play all about fantasy which means there are plenty of weird and wonderful props that we have in our props collection such as pixie ears from 1989, large donkey teeth for Bottom in 1994, colourful noise makers from Peter Brook’s pivotal production from 1970 and even a realistic dog puppet from 1981. McBean, A., (1989) Vivien: A Love Affair in Camera, ed. by Adrian Woodhouse, Oxford: Phaidon Press Limited, p.86-90.

Macbeth’¸ dir. Polly Findlay, Royal Shakespeare Company Performance at Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 21 March -18 September 2018. First watched 14th June 2020, re-accessed 22nd September 2020.There are different kinds of characters in the play; soldiers and generals, thanes and kings, ladies and witches, (and a goddess). We would like you to use costume to help to show the differences between these characters. Think about what materials, symbols or accessories you can use to help show the character’s status and personality. In Shakespeare’s time all actors were male. Men and boys played all the female parts. As with the men, women’s costumes were usually ordinary clothes that reflected the social status of the character the actor was playing. They also wore wigs which, by their colour and styles, showed the age and status of their character. Our Archive Collection is cared for at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust home to the largest library and archive dedicated to Shakespeare. You can browse what is housed there on their online database from production photos, cast lists, programmes and posters of our productions since its foundation. Our archive collection also includes DVD recordings of our productions which you can explore online and then arrange to see in person by booking with Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Monks, A., 2009 The Actor in Costume, ‘Dressing the Audience: A History of Fashion at the Theatre’, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, p.34-40. We also have the accessories which were worn alongside the main costume, such as the crown Helen Mirren wore as Cleopatra in 1982.