An audio descriptive guide to the exhibition 'Playing with Scale' can be downloaded from the National Theatre's exhibition page. The guide is designed for blind and partially sighted visitors and includes all the caption text on the walls and descriptions of the visual elements of the exhibition, as well as basic information about navigating around… Continue reading Describing set models
Author: jocelynherbertfellow
Jocelyn Herbert Research Fellow, author of Props: Readings in Theatre Practice (Palgrave, 2016)
Precursors of Performance
What remains of a production that was never performed? I discuss an unrealised production of Verdi’s opera Simon Boccanegra, directed by John Dexter, designed by Jocelyn Herbert, and scheduled for the 1984/85 season at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in an article published in the special issue of Theatre and Performance Design: On… Continue reading Precursors of Performance
Playing with Scale
'Playing with Scale' is a major new exhibition at the National Theatre from November 2018 to March 2019 on how theatre designers use set models. The exhibition explores why designers make scale models and brings attention to their collaborative work with directors, scenic artists, actors and designers of lighting and projection. The exhibition 'Playing with… Continue reading Playing with Scale
Galileo out of the shadows
Some of the model props and figures from Jocelyn Herbert's 1980 production of The Life of Galileo have been away from the archive for a few months, in the care of the Conservation department of Camberwell College of Arts. MA student Tabitha Austin carried out a detailed review of their condition, discovering that some of the… Continue reading Galileo out of the shadows
The paint frame and the floor
‘Visiting the paint frame that first time had been like stepping back to another age, and Rex had suddenly seen the theatre not just as a building or a place, but also as a kind of machine for telling stories.’ Tony White, The Fountain in the Forest, 2018. Tony White’s novel opens with the police… Continue reading The paint frame and the floor
Talking with David Storey
Thanks to Cathy Courtney for some additional information about David Storey's collaboration with Jocelyn Herbert, following this post about the designs for Early Days. David Storey talks at length about working with Ralph Richardson and Lindsay Anderson on Early Days in an interview for the National Life Stories collection. National Life Stories is an oral… Continue reading Talking with David Storey
Programmes from Berlin
Among the several hundred programmes in the Jocelyn Herbert archive there are a dozen from Berliner Ensemble productions between 1952 and 1967. It’s a small but richly rewarding resource, especially in terms of graphic design and changing ideas about what printed programmes might bring to the whole event of a theatrical performance. In November, Brecht… Continue reading Programmes from Berlin
Uncovering the design for ‘Early Days’
A guest post by Hannah Shapland, BA Theatre Design student at Rose Bruford College. (See also Talking with David Storey.) This week I have been looking at the archived files for information on Early Days, written by David Storey and directed by Lindsay Anderson. This show was first put on in the Theatre Royal Brighton… Continue reading Uncovering the design for ‘Early Days’
A dolls’ house without dolls
A visit to an extraordinary dolls’ house this week suggested some of the differences between dolls’ houses and working models for theatre. Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is a spectacular dolls’ house, designed by Edwin Lutyens, and built between 1921 and 1924. It is at 1:12 scale, with murals by William Nicholson and Edmund Dulac, fully… Continue reading A dolls’ house without dolls
‘Taking the Space’ – Phyllida Lloyd
This year's Jocelyn Herbert lecture will be given by director Phyllida Lloyd, whose work includes Mary Stuart, Mamma Mia! and the recent all-female Shakespeare Trilogy for the Donmar Warehouse. In 'Taking the Space', she reflects on the impact of design on her productions for theatre, opera and film. Fri 3 Nov, 6pm Running Time: 45… Continue reading ‘Taking the Space’ – Phyllida Lloyd
