PLAYHOUSE CREATURES
Script by April De Angelis
Director | Patricia Logue
Costume Designer | Emily Cantwell
Set Designer | Alberto Aquilina
Lighting Designer | Yasmin Alayoubi
Photographer | Simon Gough
Venue | Richard Burton Theatre-Proscenium Stage
Process
Our aim for this show was for it to be a celebration of the Restoration era, and specifically the women who were the first actresses allowed to perform onstage after Charles II took the throne. We wanted to create a visual journey through textiles that represented the narrative arc of these women, from the false glamour of the playhouse to the tattered garments they would be forced to wear when their luck would turn
The concept of "women on display" was a central theme that the creative team wanted to explore in this show. I took inspiration from images of antique wooden dolls, small playthings that could be dressed up and played with, then discarded when they were no longer found interesting
Color Palette
The color palette was derived to keep the integrity of Restoration era costumes that would be worn on the stage-these costumes would be very bright and colorful, and often adorned with beads, feathers, and sequins to catch the candlelight
Historical Research
Silver Tissue dress, ca. 1660 | Stays and busk—1660-1680 | Restoration era petticoat breeches and doublet | Portrait of Nell Gwyn | Women's Shoes, app. 1660
Thumbnail Sketches
Costume Plot
Using my thumbnail sketches I created a costume plot that illustrated what costume was to be worn in each scene
