A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been professionally performed hundreds if not thousands of times since it was written by William Shakespeare in the late 1500’s. Whilst there have been countless notably productions of the show, only a few stand out productions have managed to snatch prestigious theatrical awards. Check out the award list below to see which lucky few made it into award history:
Prestigious Theatre Awards
Year | Award | Cateogory | Winner | Production |
1971 | Tony Award | Best Director | Peter Brook | Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
1996 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Costume Designer | Anthony Ward(Anthony was also nominated for a Tony award for his work on the same production on Broadway) | A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
2002 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Lighting Designer | Mark Henderson | A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed at the Albery Theatre (now the Noel Coward) |
Prestigious Film Awards
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is not just performed for live theatre; in fact many film interpretations of the original Shakespeare text have been made. Celebrated films adaptations have included stars such as Dame Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, Anna Friel and Christian Bale in lead roles. To find out which film adaptations were worthy of awards please see below.
Year | Award | Category | Winner | Production |
1935 | Academy Award | Best Cinematography | Hal Mohr | Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle’s film version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
1935 | Academy Award | Best Film Editing | Ralph Dawson | Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle’s film version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
Future Awards?
There may be more awards to come for Shakespeare’s celebrated classic! Not only is Michael Grandage directing a production of the show on London’s West End, two-time Tony Award winner Julie Taymor (the brains behind the Lion King) is preparing to direct the play in New York. Taymor’s long term partner, Oscar-winning composer Elliot Goldenthal, will compose some original music for the play.