Which practitioners/directors have had the greatest influence upon your work, and why? |
A number of people have had an influence on my work to date for various reasons. Firstly - my peers at drama school.... both good and bad, my tutors, namely Sean Crowley and Christine Marfleet, both designers in their own right and both completely different types of designers to each other- both teach completely different types of theatre design and process.
Other theatre designers that have had an influence in my earlier days of study, as people to regard as brilliant designers. But then it depends on what the design is, it's always good to remember that design should be seen in context of the production - good photographs of a pretty interesting design are really impressive but not always a good judge of whether the design was well used in direction or indeed, if it was right for the piece.
Bob Crowley though is a great influence; I assisted him when I first left college. He is so seemingly effortless in his approach and so unphased now. His work is so powerful and impactive.
What you can learn from designers is how to design... not copy their work. It's important to have your own stamp - this takes time to develop, but a personality in your work evolves over time and you begin to trust your own instincts more. It also depends on your director and what they give to the process. Some directors like to let you get on with it, and others like to get involved. I like both approaches, as long they can fill you with confidence in the work, yourself and in them.
As far as directors go, I've been lucky to have worked with quite a few in a limited space of time. Each has an influence; it would be rude to name names. |
| What was your initial approach to the text? |
Read, read, read, and if you still don't understand read again and read around the text. The key is to research as much as you can. Granted you can't always cover every eventuality but it helps to have a clue!
The text for Amadeus is very clear. It knows what it is – and is clearly developed on the page. So what is required is to trust that if you are true to the text and are able to tell the story in the best and simplest way possible - you will be OK! |
| The Crucible is a wonderful, yet unusual space to create a piece of work for. How have you approached working in that space and has the space effected your approach to the play’s design? |
The space has affected my design - you are very limited in terms of flying, sightlines etc- so spacially you are very dictated to by the space. Some designers have really cracked that space and the reason was because they worked with it rather than trying to design around it. It's the same for any space really. I have designed for spaces quite similar in lay out to the crucible before but the auditorium and height, size is brilliant in terms of how epic it can feel and also how intimate at other times. It's a real joy to be designing for this space.
In our approach Nikolai and I basically wanted to keep the action moving as gracefully as possible. We did this by trying not to get bogged down in actual locations and basically just creating an atmospheric world that is true of Salieri's state of mind.... and one which allows ease of performance that creates a statement at the same time. |
| First performed in 1979 at the National, Amadeus has had a long and illustrious history: from the West End to Broadway to the Silver Screen and now to The Crucible. Is your work influenced by past productions? Or if not, what has inspired you in your design? |
I obviously watched the film quite a bit - but it is so different to the stage play that it's quite pointless as a watch. I remember watching it as a child with my sister. A number of times actually and really loving it. Remembering how dark and sinister I thought it was. I never at that time ever thought I would be designing the sets and costumes for it.... That's what is so great about my job.
It's quite terrifying that it has been done well before ad to great merit, but if we have that always at the back of our minds, it's hard to do the job for yourself. So once that initial fear has subsided, you just get on with the job at hand and hope for the best. |
| Can you explain the process by which you and Nikolai Foster (the director), have worked together to create the design for Amadeus? |
| We have a few meetings to discuss the play. It's important to know exactly what Nikolai wants to achieve, the angles he wants to take on it. What he wants to say with the piece. The atmosphere he wants to achieve. Then we research, share research. Share thoughts either stupid or not. It's just about throwing out all your ideas at once and seeing what you come up with. I start modelling the design up at 1:25 scale, drawing out ideas, moments, he comes and sees how I'm getting on, we talk some more. I went through quite a few paths in the design before we got to where we have got to. |
| Nikolai Foster described the costumes for Amadeus as based on the period clothing, but with a contemporary sexy twist to give them va va voom! What is the importance of costume within this production? Can you explain your concept for the costumes? |
| I think we are just trying to keep it period but also keep it fresh as possible and as up to date as possible, so it's accessible to all audience members. |
| Can you explain the use of candles on stage? Why you have chosen them to be real and what the considerations in such a design are? |
The candles act as a ceiling for the room we have created- like stars in the sky, like a gothic church..... they also add atmosphere.
They are quite representative of themes in the script and references in there. |
| What Arts work did you do at school? |
I was in every school play, I played the lead for the last 4 years of it, I was in wind band, orchestra, chamber choir, choir, quartets etc. Lots of music, art and theatre activities. I studied English Literature, Art and Music to A-Level.
Then I received an unconditional offer to Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff where I studied for three years in Theatre Design.
I was also a member of Ulster theatre company for two years whilst at school, as an actor and then Ulster youth choir. |
| After leaving school, what training did you take? |
| B.A. Hons, Theatre Design, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the I entered the Linbury prize for Theatre Design at the National Theatre in 2003. additional training was with the RSC for a year as an assistant designer. |
| How did you get your "big break"? |
The Linbury prize was a big break for me. Getting into college was also a big break too. I've had lots of little big breaks. I guess the best was designing for Battignano opera festival (Italy) in 2004 with Rupert Goold directing.
The RSC job came after that.... and thank God I've carried on working since then. |
| What does a typical day consist of? |
| Everyday is different. Some days you might be just at home working on a model, designing costumes, researching.... or you might be on a train to the theatre to do fittings, meetings. It really varies, that’s what keeps it interesting. |
| Is it a busy life? |
| It is busy and is sometimes very stressful. But it depends on the show and how big it is. Amadeus is quite stressful. There are a lot of things to think about – it’s good to keep lists! It's not a great job if you like a social life - so it tends to be your social life as well. |
| How do you feel your work has changed or developed? |
| It has definitely changed over time, but you always know what you like. I think it has got more confident and less trying to please. As time goes on and you do more shows and make some mistakes, you know what you wouldn't do again and what works in general. I have so much more to learn though. You never stop learning, changing and developing. That's what's exciting! |
