Shakespeare’s legacy and other playwrights’ work is kept alive at Tolethorpe every year with a packed schedule of three plays. Tolethorpe will be fifty years old next year, so Sally Stillingfleet took a look behind the scenes and talks to Miriam Spring Davies about her role as Costume Designer.
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OLETHORPE is a unique and beautiful place and attracts visitors from all over the world. The beautiful setting, grand picnics on the lawn and the opportunity to experience a play in a truly original setting, is pretty special, quintessentially English and should not be missed. But lately Tolethorpe has been lucky enough to have their very own Costume Designer with theatrical costume credentials unsurpassed. Miriam graduated from Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) with a First Class Honours in Design for Performance (specialising in Costume Design) and has worked as Costume Designer and Wardrobe Mistress for web series, Ren: The Girl With The Mark (Directed by Kate Madison). There she won Best Costume Design for Ren (a three-year long project) at the Rio Webfest and can be viewed on rentheseries.com or the MythicaEntertainment YouTube Channel. Last year if anyone was lucky enough to see it she designed the costumes for Macbeth, based on Game of Thrones! How cool is that? She works tirelessly all year round, from when the last play ends ready for the new season; at the house are her workrooms, sewing machines and vast prop cupboards. When Miriam designs she brings a new level of design creativity to her work. With the help of the actors her designs come alive, jumping off the pages of her detailed sketches. You can see the actors get into character too, wearing her costumes. Richard explained “Miriam has multifaceted skills – she’s fantastic and does everything!” Richard looks incredible in the coat and antler headdress, as Oberon. Bill is a seasoned Tolethorpe actor and he told me Miriam’s costumes “Make you feel the part, they make you stand up taller and you become that character.” Everyone I spoke to is passionate about Tolethorpe and its magic. The company of approximately 200 people make it what it is and when Jean Harley was Creative Director in the beginning Richard explained “she didn’t let anyone get away! She would always find you a small part and that’s been it’s essence really, she always nurtured talent.” This year come and see Costume Designer, maker and Wardrobe Mistress’s fantastical costumes for yourself in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, directed by David and Kay Roberts. Or Hobson’s Choice, by Harold Brighouse, directed by Di Watson. Miriam’s website: - miriamspringdavies.com Miriam is also a stylist and has her personal style blog as a platform for her work thegirlwiththecopperkettle.blogspot.co.uk Many thanks to the cast for modeling their costumes. Richard Byron-White - Oberon Bill Lindsay – Theseus (Duke of Athens) Olivia Longbone – Moth To book a play, go to http://stamfordshakespeare.co.uk/ STAMFORD LIVING JUNE 2017
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