Judith Meredith – Costumes

Judith’s job in charge of costumes started with a discussion with Linda to understand the

director’s vision for the costumes. This established the sort of costumes each of the characters

would be wearing in each scene, bearing in mind the time of day and year and whether they

were entering from out-of-doors. Judith and Linda then searched the club’s own wardrobe and

anything that might possibly have been suitable was extracted. At the second rehearsal the

costumes were discussed with the cast and those that were suitable and fitted were sorted out.

At first, Judith was not too happy about the costume selected for Kristine because it was the

same one that Judith had worn in the part in 1971 (see the programme for a photo.) In fact it

worked well. Nora’s costumes were all sourced from the wardrobe. The gypsy costume was a

real find and looked superb with a little enhancement by Claire’s mother.

Laurence was able to provide a complete set of superb costumes for his character, Nils Krogstad

and Barry provided his own costumes for Dr Rank. For Torvald a tail coat and a cut-away coat

were borrowed from a friend and Desmond provided another. Barry Serjent was a great source

of expertise on how to put on and wear the formal wear such as the wing collars and white

waistcoats. The only clothes that needed to be outsourced were the outer coats and some

shoes. A considerable amount of fur was sewn onto almost everyone’s outer garments to make

them look authentic.

Desmond’s formal shoes for the party were particularly difficult to find. A pair was spotted in a

charity shop but they were outside the budget and by the time a decision had been made they

had gone. However, an even more suitable pair of black patent shoes was found in another

charity shop for £8. His smoking jacket was originally only just suitable but another jacket was

found by a friend of Judith; it was repaired and adapted into the splendid garment that he wore

for the play. As it was in delicate condition, Desmond was put under strict instruction about how

to care for it over the production period.

It was clear that the biggest problem was likely to be costumes for the children as there is

very little in the wardrobe in those sizes, or that could be adapted. The first port of call was their

parents, who were very helpful. There was a hat in the wardrobe for Aaron (and an amazing one

for Bryan as the porter.) Aaron’s mother cut down some trousers and Judith was able to borrow

a suitable jacket and a cloak and gloves for him as well as a check dress for Claire and a

number of other costumes. The children’s costumes were also the most difficult to research and

a lot of time was spent on the internet trying to find pictures of ordinary children’s winter wear at

the turn of the century. Most of the literature tends not to show everyday clothes.