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First open-air production of
'A Midsummer
Night's Dream'
P
ERFORMING ARTS STUDENTS
celebrated Shakespeare’s
400th anniversary by staging
a new open-air production of 'A
Midsummer Night’s Dream' in June.
More than forty students from
across Queen Margaret’s Performing
Arts programmes worked with staff
to create a truly magical evening of
theatre.
As part of this exciting production,
QMU worked in partnership with
students from both the University of
Edinburgh and Edinburgh Lighting and
Sound School. Original music for the
show was supervised by Yati Durant
and composed by students of MSc
Composition for Screen at the Reid
School of Music, ECA, University of
Edinburgh.
The public performances took place
over a week in June with open air
productions staged within the grounds of
QMU and at the beautiful Dunbar’s Close
Gardens on Edinburgh's Royal Mile. ❒
Costume Showcase
creates new worlds
C
OSTUME SHOWCASE is one
of the highlights in the QMU
calendar and this year’s
creative event did not disappoint.
The catwalk showpiece, held at The
Pleasance in Edinburgh, transported the
audience through a chain of imaginary
worlds. Led by the BA (Hons) Costume
Design and Construction student group,
the event featured characters drawn
from a fairy tale past and a science
fiction future. The audience was dazzled
by the feast of visual fun which included
ghostly apparitions brought to life using
21st century technology.
The show transported the audience
across time and space. Characters
from Brecht’s ‘Caucasian Chalk Circle’
walked the runway alongside creations
inspired by anime and mythology, by
the artic north and the exotic east, by
politics and pantomime.
enchanting family of the ‘Tailor Mice’
and was amazed by the ‘Experiments
in Life Forms’ created specifically for
the National Museum of Scotland and
Edinburgh’s International Science
Festival.
2016’s finale pieces quite literally lit up
the auditorium. A selection of exquisite
Renaissance costumes with a modern
twist – ‘Selene, goddess of the moon’,
and her court – took centre stage. See
photo feature on page 14–17. ❒
The audience was introduced to the
QMYOU / Creativity & Culture
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