THE RECREATION OF A GEORGIAN STAGE

KIA ORA

upcoming show in the Ryman Healthcare 2023 Season is one of Julian’s dream shows to design for - stay tuned to see which one!

The set he has designed for Sense and Sensibility is a recreation of a theatre of the Georgian era, requiring the shape of the thrust stage to create intimacy and be close to the audience. Inspiration for the design came from Drottningholms Slottsteater (Drottningholm Palace Theatre) in Stockholm, Sweden, and reflects the theatres of the early 19th century.

When he took a costume helmet home from a 1994 outdoor performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to fix it, Julian Southgate probably couldn’t have predicted that this would lead him into a career in props and set design spanning nearly 30 years (and counting).

Julian has designed numerous Court Theatre sets and also manages the Theatre’s thousands of props. Many of these props are repurposed for multiple shows, sourced second-hand from vintage stores or online, or created from scratch. The horse and sheep seen in Sense and Sensibility have lived several lives, including being rescued from The Court’s previous home in The Arts Centre after the 2010 / 2011 earthquakes.

Julian’s favourite part of the job is the opportunity to try his hand at many crafts and, if something doesn’t work the first time, to try something new until he gets it perfect. His favourite set designs include the intimate and immersive Year of the Rat at The Forge, when The Court was in The Arts Centre, and End of the Rainbow, which featured the band on a revolving platform as scenes changed. An

The design process involved working closely with Director Hillary Moulder to ensure the set would be fit-for-purpose and work with the choreography and movement in the show. The postponement of the show from 2022 meant ideas and designs were conceptualised over a longer than normal timeframe.

To create the set, design sketches are first created and a scale model of the set is built (you may have seen some from past shows in the Court foyer!) The entire set is then constructed from the ground up here at The Shed, with the workshop team building the Georgian world of Sense and Sensibility while 1990s New York filled the stage in RENT.

For Julian, a highlight of bringing the Georgian era to life is the freedom to use theatrical techniques that have been long unused but are fun to play with and bring joy to the actors and the audience. Examples are placing the set and props on a shrunken-down stage (only half of the depth of the actual stage is used) which is thrust toward to the audience, adding to the comedic nature of this play.

As Sense and Sensibility features a number of settings, from Norland Estate to London to the Devonshire countryside, backdrops are used to create a mood or feeling, rather than the actual replication of the setting itself. This choice is also reflective of Georgian theatres, where flat scenery provided a backdrop, but wasn’t interacted with by the actors in the same way we see in modern theatre.

While the stage design helps bring 1811 to life for 21st century audiences, theatre-going has changed dramatically; it used to be very common for audiences to arrive late, talk throughout the entire performance and have their footmen courier gossip between patrons during shows! We’d prefer that you sit back, appreciate the talent and creativity on show, and simply enjoy a most excellent play.