PRODUCED BY WEST YORKSHIRE PLAYHOUSE, WATFORD PALACE THEATRE AND TIATA FAHODZI • WRITTEN BY ZODWA NYONI• DIRECTOR LUCIAN MSAMATI • LIGHTING DESIGN EMMA CHAPMAN
Left alone to rebuild her life, Miriam’s heartache is interrupted when Boi Boi’s reckless ex-wife Stella and traditionalistic brother show up to stake their claim on his name, on his property and to revel in the glory of his fame.
Winner of the International Creative Competition 2015
MUSIC BY M.RAVEL • WRITTEN BY COLETTE • DIRECTED BY S. JANSKI • LIGHTING BY PHILIP EDWARDS • ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC
Set in an old-fashioned Normandy country home, the opera tells the story of an unruly child who is reprimanded by the objects in the room he was destroying. In the second part, the bedroom becomes a garden, filled with singing animals and plants, which have been tormented by the child as well. A squirrel is hurt, the child bandages the squirrel and the animals have a change of heart, they carry him back home as they praise him and call for his mother.
MUSIC BY SAMUEL BARBER AND LIBRETTO BY GIAN-CARLO MENOTTI • DIRECTED BY S. JANSKI • LIGHTING BY JOHN BISHOP • RNCM •
PRODUCED BY RAYMOND GUBBAY • DIRECTED BY LUC MOLLINGER • BUCKINGHAM PALACE, LONDON
I designed the staging and costumes for the show using a varied palate of blues that complemented the stone colour of the Palace under different light conditions while at the same time taking tying in with the branding colours of the event.
The set had to host a very wide variety of acts and number of people ranging from a soloist to up to 140 singers and a full orchestra. The set was arranged at different levels and sizes in order to accommodate these. The central podium design incorporated the event’s logo as well as the dates of the Her Royal Majesty’s coronation. Other designs on the stage incorporated different aspects of the coronation and symbolism like the flowers that represented the different Commonwealth countries and that were once embroidered in Her Majesty’s dress.
I was asked to design and produce a forest inspired by the “Iron” Lankaran forest in Azerbaijan. This surreal forest is famous for its intricate twisted old trees that I replicated.
The guests experience a complete transition from day to night by means of light and BP screen.
The forest became an fully sensory experience with the lights, sounds and specially commissioned scent. he forest was itself a “perfume sculpture” that the guests could wider and explore.
MUSIC BY G. BIZET • LIBRETTO BY HENRI MEILHAC AND LUDOVIC HALÉVY • DIRECTED BY S. JANSKI • LIGHTING BY EMMA CHAPMAN • ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC • PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL CLIFF
Set in Franco’s Spain (1937), with a cast of over 130 people and more than 450 costumes.
Set in an old-fashioned Normandy country home, the opera tells the story of an unruly child who is reprimanded by the objects in the room he was destroying. In the second part, the bedroom becomes a garden, filled with singing animals and plants, which have been tormented by the child as well. A squirrel is hurt, the child bandages the squirrel and the animals have a change of heart, they carry him back home as they praise him and call for his mother.
MUSIC BY LEOS JANACEK AND LIBRETTO BY VINCENT CERVINKA • DIRECTED BY S. JANSKI • LIGHTING BY PHILIP EDWARDS • RNCM •
Music by G. Bizet • libretto by Henry Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy • Directed by S. Janski • Lighting by Emma Chapman • Royal Northern College of Music • Photographs by Paul Cliff
Set in Franco’s Spain (1937), with a cast of over 130 people and more than 450 costumes.
PRODUCED BY WEST YORKSHIRE PLAYHOUSE, WATFORD PALACE THEATRE AND TIATA FAHODZI • WRITTEN BY ZODWA NYONI• DIRECTOR LUCIAN MSAMATI • LIGHTING DESIGN EMMA CHAPMAN
Left alone to rebuild her life, Miriam’s heartache is interrupted when Boi Boi’s reckless ex-wife Stella and traditionalistic brother show up to stake their claim on his name, on his property and to revel in the glory of his fame. Determined to keep her family together, Miriam’s life is thrown into turmoil when Stella discovers the secret she shared only with Boi Boi. Will the beguiling Stella be triumphant in the face of Boi Boi’s death? Live music entwines with crackling dialogue in this sharp new production for the Courtyard stage.
Winner of the International Creative Competition 2015
MUSIC BY M. RAVEL AND LIBRETTO BY FRANC-NOHAIN • DIRECTED BY S. JANSKI • LIGHTING BY PHILIP EDWARDS • ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC
THE OPERA TAKES PLACE IN 21 SCENES, INTRODUCTION AND A FINALE IN THE WORKSHOP OF CLOCKMAKER TORQUEMADA IN TOLEDO. THE PENDULUMS SWING, ADDING ACTION AND MARKING THE PASSING OF TIME, AS THE WHOLE ACTION IS MEANT TO TAKE PLACE IN ONE HOUR. THE PICTURES SHOWN HERE ARE OF THE TECHNICAL REHEARSAL AND THE SET WAS STILL UNFINISHED AS CAN BE SEEN BY THE MISSING CLOCK FACES
Immaculate Conceit
WRITTEN BY S. DUFFY, P.ROSEBY AND CAST • DIRECTED BY P. ROSEBY • LYRIC HAMMERSMITH STUDIO.
The play tells the story of a group of young people who live and work in the back streets of London’s Soho. An angel appears to one of them and tells her that she is to conceive the new messiah. A whole series of events unfolds. The set was made of different rotating units that light up to become different locations.
GERSHWIN AND LIBRETTO BY I. GERSHWIN • BOOK BY K. LUDWIG • DIRECTOR EDDY HABBEMA • ORIGINAL SET DESIGN BY ERIC VAN DER PALEN • COSTUME YAN TAX • LIGHTING DESIGN REINIER TWEEBEEKE STAGE • HOLDING PRODUCTIONS • NATIONAL TOUR, NETHERLANDS.
Worked alongside designer Eric Van der Palen developing and designing the set.
Spiel in Berg • DIRECTED BY ANDREW HARRIES • YOUNG ACTORS THEATRE, LONDON.
The Action takes place in a Salt Mine. lack of air is the reason for the bizarre hallucinations our characters suffer. The set was made of back projection fabric with back and front projections providing the different locations our characters believe to be in.
WRITTEN BY FEDERICO GARCIA LORCA • DIRECTED BY B LAGAN • COURTYARD THEATRE, LONDON
A myriad of doors surrounded the acting space. I played with the idea of the secret life and personal drama that hides behind every home. All costumes were broken down and washed with dyes in greys and browns to give them an earthy and worn feel.
MUSIC BY BOLLAND EN BOLLAND •
LYRICS BY ANDRE BREEDLAND • DIRECTED BY PAUL EENENS • ORIGINAL SET DESIGN ERIC VAN DER PALEN • COSTUME YAN TAX • LIGHTING REINIER TWEEBEEKE • STAGE HOLDING PRODUCTIONS.
I WORKED DEVELOPING THE NEW SET REQUIRED FOR A NEW VERSION OF THE SHOW AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL RUN AND BEAUTIFUL DESIGN BY ERIC VAN DER PALEN. WE WORKED CLOSELY DEVELOPING A COMPLETELY NEW PROPOSAL FOR THE BERLIN’S THEATE DES WESTENS.
WRITTEN BY FEDERICO GARCIA LORCA • DIRECTED BY B LAGAN • COURTYARD THEATRE, LONDON
A myriad of doors surrounded the acting space. I played with the idea of the secret life and personal drama that hides behind every home.
WRITTEN BY HANNIE RAYSON • DIRECTED BY JACK GOING • VIENNA ENGLISH THEATRE AND FRANKFURT ENGLISH THEATRE.
This play tells the story of George using flashbacks in order to trace and understand the character. We start in the funeral parlour and as the play progresses, we visit 13 locations during several years. The set and costumes in the present are in tone of greys and blacks while George and his past locations are in bright colours. A big challenge was to provide a set that showed all locations in a theatre that had no flying or wing space.
The director John Yost wanted an Alice that modern girls could identify with, both modern and fresh. Rather than a mirror, we used a computer as a window into wonderland. Our Alice receives an email from the Red Queen, and sees the rabbit coming out of her bed. The white rabbit takes her by the hand, and together they go through the walls of the bedroom, landing on a gigantic laptop in Wonderland. We are now in Alice’s desk, and all of its contents – such as the books and pencils – become the doors, throne, furniture and other props of this absurd world
Vanessa tells the story of a woman surrounded by memories and waiting for her former lover to return. As she waits, she can’t bear the passing of time and covers all the mirrors. In our production, the mirror was an opening to the outside world. The different carpets where reflected in the mirror, allowing the audience toperceive what was going through Vanessa’s mind while at the same time seeing the other reality on the static set.
The action was set in Franco’s Spain during the late 40s, I designed a group of walls and units that could be moved to fit the action.
MUSIC BY LUCY SIMON • BOOK AND LYRICS BY MARSHA NORMAN • DIRECTOR MATHEW GOULD • LIGHTING DESIGN BY TOM KITNEY • PRODUCED BY ARIA ENTERTAINMENT AND KNOCKHARDY PRODUCTIONS • NATIONAL TOUR, UK.
I was asked to design an inexpensive travelling set for the concert version of the musical. A victorian paper cut was the starting point which I used and re-designed so that it would feature the main locations of the show and when lit, act as a visual guide to the audience.
