Demelza House Hospice’s Midsummer Night’s Dream
For Demelza House Hospice Care for Children’s fundraising gala dinner, we reimagined the Underglobe as A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Over 300 guests made their way from the riverbank through a woodland entrance and descended into the magical Underglobe for a Shakespearean treat. To recreate the play’s forest setting, the venue was adorned with foliage, pine cones, moss and trailing ivy. The table were festooned with brightly coloured flowers, butterflies and insects and each had its own tree centrepiece. Slate mats were inscribed with quotes from Shakespeare’s famous play.
Titania and Oberon’s fairy realm
As guests reached the mezzanine, staff styled as fairies and woodland creatures greeted them with Champagne and canapés. Above the tables in the Underglobe, an aerial hoop act, draped in ethereal gauze, and lit as if by soft moonlight, mesmerised the audience.
The evening’s menu showcased fabulous English produce and included Hanson & Lyderson smoked salmon, corn-fed chicken with smoked bacon, and an indulgent treacle tart with London honeycomb.
An excellent cause
During dinner, guests took part in the iBid silent auction, competing for fantastic prizes, including an exclusive private box at Ascot.
A heartfelt speech describing one family’s experiences with Demelza House reminded us all that this lovely evening had the very serious purpose of raising vital funds for the hospice. A live auction, hosted by Clive Emerson, rounded off the fundraising, taking the evening’s total profit to £125,000.
Dancing the night away
The lively part of the evening kicked off with some heart thumping percussion beats before exciting, versatile, multi-genre DJ Duo, The Roustabouts took over. Spinning a mash-up of Balkan beats, cabaret, electro-swing and all the guilty pleasure disco faves you could wish for, the dance floor was crowded with partygoers for the rest of the evening.
Demelza House
“Thank you so very, very much for staging the most fantastic event for us last night!!!
“Our regular supporters who have followed us around over the years from venue to venue were totally blown away by the setting, food, wine and entertainment.
“It is easy to see why you guys are so busy. You have an amazing team and fantastic formula and we are very privileged that you chose to support our charity. Thank you for your vision, creativity and boundless generosity in making this happen for us.
I would love to work together again sometime soon; it has been a delight from start to finish.”