Could you tell us about how theatre society works and what play you have been working on?
Theatre society does four plays per semester, which sounds like a lot but it is really fun.... Anyone can audition for any role in any play - you can even go for all of them. You can also apply to work in a tech role - either ask to be assigned to any, or fill out a form for a specific role in a specific play.
I specifically chose to work on Gaslight. It's a Victorian gothic thriller set in the 1880s. I like historical fashion - the director had actually seen me wearing historical clothing and kind of requested me.
I like historical clothing so a lot of the costumes just came straight out of my wardrobe.
Was there much direction for costume given in the script or did you have complete creative freedom?
It’s set in the 1880s, so this is quite a specific historical time period - it’s in the second bustle era, we’re looking at very high necks. But the problem is, we don’t have a massive budget so our play is not bustle era. We’ve gone for a more general Victorian look, because the Victorian period is a really long era and fashion-wise it changes so much. Victorian era clothing is also a bit more remembered in the cultural mindset, which is good because it means there’s more clothing inspired by it.
Creative freedom-wise, it was a lot. We didn’t have the budget to make it really historically accurate, so we sort of went with what looks fitting. I like historical clothing so a lot of the costumes just came straight out of my wardrobe.
This leads to my next question- where did you source the costumes? Was it all from your wardrobe? Were there any DIY elements?
I don’t have the time or budget to sew things, and although it’s a small cast of five people, I can’t fully make five costumes. So, for the lead actress, Lauren, I just gave her one of my dresses and used an underskirt, and had to buy some white socks because white tights are really hard to find apparently…. She wore her own shoes, so that was a simple enough costume.
Charity shops are an absolute godsend for sourcing clothes.
Libby, who plays Nancy, her outfit was also entirely mine and it consisted of a skirt and a shirt. It’s not really DIY but I did use a hair clip to make a brooch and I used my earrings on her.
Elizabeth, played by Tehya, was a bit more of a mish-mash. We have access to costumes used before in the Theatre Society, but the problem is actually finding something Victorian in that. We used a skirt from another production, and then charity shops are an absolute godsend for sourcing clothes. You can get very unusual-looking clothing that you can pass for historical. I remember we could not find a shirt for Tehya so I just went to the charity shops during a rehearsal and I found a shirt and a brooch for £4.
Victorian era clothing for men is really easy - it’s just a suit. Obviously I can’t lend the lead male actor my own clothes, so he wore his own and I brought in some ties to make it more historical.
There was another character called Rough, played by Grace, who the director very much had a vision for them to be historically asynchronised. Rough is meant to be an old man - we are a university society, we don’t have an old man. Grace plays Rough almost like the Doctor in Doctor Who - he doesn’t really seem to fit in the time period. She wears this very modern coat, shirt, waistcoat, and bowtie. I think it’s all Grace’s clothes and she looks awesome.
Has the casting impacted costume decisions at all?
Probably not for this production specifically, because we wanted to go Victorian so we just used what would fit. It was more that they were playing very specific characters, so it was the characters’ appearance or personality that impacted costume. Libby’s character, Nancy, is a bit of a flirt, so we specifically chose the shorter skirt for her and then the long one for Elizabeth.
As a costume designer, how important are dress rehearsals for you? Did you have to make any tweaks after seeing the costumes on stage for the first time?
No, as because it was my own clothes we could source them very early… I think it was at the first proper rehearsal after the read-through, I came in and Alice just picked my brain about what I was thinking for costume.
I brought in all of my clothes. The first step was what fits everyone, and the second step was what suits everyone and what is comfortable. We had a first try on but I’d bring [the costumes] into rehearsals after that just so the actors could get used to those kinds of clothes, as it’s very different from what they are used to.
Do you have a favourite costume or piece that you’re most proud of?
The lead actress is wearing my favourite dress, I've worn it many a time. It’s this corduroy, black, gothic dress with a brooch, and it’s my favourite dress to look at aesthetically.
A costume I’m really proud of is Nancy’s because it’s a skirt-shirt ensemble that I put a clip in. We had to find a bonnet because she comes in from outside, and we couldn't find one because who wears bonnets nowadays. We improvised with a hairclip I had, and we used my scarf as a shawl… so this was the costume I was proudest of as I had to really think about how to make it work in our situation, but Lauren’s is my favourite.
You obviously know a lot about this era of fashion, but would you also be interested in designing costumes in other plays going forwards?
Yes. Historical fashion is my niche… I’m not an expert but I probably know more than the average person. I’d love to work on any future production that’s either period or non-period. Non-period would give me the freedom to look into the cast’s wardrobe and see what works which would be really exciting, and they also tend to have more costume changes which would be so fun, getting to design multiple costumes.
I do hope to audition for the plays next semester and see if I can get a role, but if not I’d be more than happy to do costume again. It’s so fun, and on the night it’s way less pressure.
