Gormley and Gaga star in new V&A stage design show

Stage and performance design is being spotlighted (no pun intended) by the Victoria and Albert Museum which will introduce a cast (no pun intended…again) of theatre designers, architects and artists.

Billy Budd Glyndebourne May 2010 set cosutme designer Chris Oram Alastair Muir
Billy Budd, Glyndebourne May 2010 set & cosutme designer Chris Oram (c) Alastair Muir

The Transformation and Revelation exhibition is being brought to the museum’s Theatre and Performance Galleries next month with curatorial help from the Society of British Theatre Designers.

Agrippina Opernhaus Zurich May 2009 costumes by Marie Jeanne Lecca
Agrippina Opernhaus Zurich May 2009 costumes by Marie-Jeanne Lecca

Scale models, costumes for opera and drama and video projections for stadium concerts will be drafted in, plus other sound, light and multimedia demonstrations to explain each designer’s inspiration.

Creditors, Anna Chancellor, costume designer Fotini Dimou (c) Hugo Glendinning
Creditors, Anna Chancellor, costume designer Fotini Dimou (c) Hugo Glendinning

 This inspiration will be presented in the context of transforming space, light, sound and body for the stage, from concept, through to sketching, model making, and the real thing.

Monster Ball World Tour 2009-10 Es Devlin set designer
Monster Ball World Tour 2009-10 (c) Es Devlin set designer

The exhibition will dissect the processes of stage design as well as a celebrating its results.

Sutra A Sadler's Wells London Production Sadlers Wells London May 2008 Hugo Glendinning
Sutra (A Sadler’s Wells London Production) Sadler’s Wells London May 2008 Hugo Glendinning

Rae Smith’s original drawings for the digital projections of War Horse (2007), Antony Gormley’s sketches for dance work Sutra, produced by Sadler’s Wells (2008), a scale model of Ralph Koltai’s theatre designs for An English Tragedy (2008) and photographs and models of Es Devlin’s set design for Lady Gaga’s Monsterball Tour (2009-2010) have all been borrowed for the exhibition.

Rushes Fragments of a Lost Story Royal Opera House London April 2008 Royal Opera House
Rushes – Fragments of a Lost Story Royal Opera House London April 2008 (c) Royal Opera House

Transformation & Revelation: Gormley to Gaga will be on display at the Theatre and Performance Galleries at the V&A, London, SW7 and will run from 17 March-30 September 2012

Start the discussionStart the discussion
  • Post a comment

Latest articles