The dress was made for Patricia Doyle, who played a Fairy in the world tour of Peter Brook's Royal Shakespeare Company production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. She also understudied Titania and Hippolyta, who, in this production, were played by the same actress. This is the costume for Titania.

Brook's A Midsummer Night's Dream originally opened at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, on 27 August 1970, with Sara Kestelman as Titania/Hippolyta. It began a year-long world tour in August 1972, first visiting Europe, then playing in America, Japan and Australia. The production was largely recast for the tour, with Gemma Jones taking over Kestelman's roles. Patricia Doyle had the opportunity to play the parts at the Opera House in Bucharest, Romania, 23-28 October 1972.

Peter Brook's A Midsummer Night's Dream used a bare white box set in which the play's magic was created through circus tricks: the fairies wore simple, brightly coloured, costumes suggested by those of Chinese acrobats and swung in on trapezes. Puck confounded the lovers while balanced on stilts and juggled a spinning plate to represent the magic flower. Brook swept away the theatrical traditions and much of the 'prettiness' that had become associated with the play and, in redefining A Midsummer Night's Dream for the 1970s, exerted an enormous influence on subsequent productions.