Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting exhibition at the National Theatre which examines the process of resetting a theatre between shows via photographs. The theatre had commissioned three photographers to each follow a play in one of their three theatres to record the activities which take place. It was a nice touch to include labels written by the various technicians explaining what they do and what the theatre means to them. It was a shame a number of the photographs were quite small and they didn’t seem to add anything to the story although they were interesting. No end date given but it was still there when I went at the end of October. Review Guardian  

Charming exhibition at the National Theatre highlighting the 12 prize winners in this award for theatre design. The prize is open to graduating designers or those who demonstrate equivalent skills and experience. Each is represented by a display with examples of their work. This was mainly photographs but also included costumes and set models. I loved Biz Sutton’s striking red outfit for “The Duchess of Malfi” set in 1910 which envisaged redesigned the Duchess and Antonio as a chauffeur and his female client. I also liked this set design by Peiyao Wang for “The Exterminating Angel” based on the film by Luis Buñuel. I loved the use of the piano lid as the stage. My favourite piece was a puppet for a play based on “His Dark Materials” by Yijing Chen. It was effectively displayed appearing from around a corner of the display. Closed 30 March 2024  

Interesting exhibition at the National Theatre of work by Amelia Lancaster. Lancaster had taken photographs of the theatre and its Brutalist architecture then simplified it down to light and shade to paint making geometric abstracts with were still recognisable as the building. I particularly liked mid-stage work which was projected onto the textured walls. Closes Autumn 2024 Review Guardian

Moving small display outside the Dorfman auditorium at the National Theatre marking 6 years since the Grenfell fire. The theatre is currently running a fabulous play based on verbatim accounts by survivors of the fire and from the public enquiry and this display compliments that. It combines parts of a photo series on the people at the heart of the tragedy, by photographer and bereaved family member Feruza Afewerki, alongside excerpts from a poem written by Grenfell resident and bereaved family member Sara Chebiouni when she was 11 years old. I would like to see more of this series and learn a bit more about the people so I will look out for future showings of it. This was just a small display with little commentary. Closed 26 August 2023    

Charming exhibition at the National Theatre of portraits of backstage staff by Curtis Holder. Holder was the winner of Sky Portrait Artist of the Year in 2020 and had been artist in residence at the theatre. The commentaries were written by the sitters giving an insight into how they came to work at the theatre and some idea of what they’d worked on. The pictures had a lovely sense of movement as often they showed more than one version of the person. There also felt like they’d been done from close observation and conversation. No closing date given    

Disappointing exhibition at the National Theatre showing the best entries in this year’s Linbury Prize for young theatrical designers. I say disappointing as I usual enjoy this show, but this year the write up of the entrants were poor and didn’t always link the people well to the work they had done. Most of the displays were just photographs with not much explanation. There were however some small set models which I always like. I usually come away from the show having learned about performances I wish I’d seen but the only one this year was Hobson’s Choice set in a Sari shop. Closes 9 January 2023  

Interesting online talk from the National Gallery looking at the fashion for ebony frames in 17th century Holland. Clara Davarpanagh took us though the different styles of frame and how the ripple effect was added using one of the first pieces of mechanisation. She talked about how Holland favoured plainer frames but how Flemish and German artists favoured a more all over design as well as looking at other styles of frame that were is use. She gave us a brief over view of the East India Company to show how the Netherlands gained a monopoly on ebony when some of their ships washed up on the shores of Mauritius and how this also added to their popularity.    

Interesting exhibition at the National Theatre showcasing the shortlisted designers for the Linbury Award award. Drawn from recent graduates of theatre design course, 20 are chosen by a panel to present their work to one of the four commissioning theatres who each chose three to work with. Each designer was then asked to produce a design for one of their forthcoming productions. The prize is then to see their design realised. It’s fascinating to see three designs for the same show and see the effect of a different set and costumes. Each design was represented by set models, sketchbooks and textiles.   I loved Zoe Hurwtiz’s design for a play called Acid at the Nuffield Southampton Theatre which consisted of a glass box with dancers inside, figures outside and a loan figure on a chair behind the box. Different lighting highlighted the different aspects of the set. I would love to see this in action. I also liked the winner Sami Fendall’s design for a ballet set ...

Lovely exhibition   at the National Theatre looking at the work of the costume department. The clothes were shown in a wonderful display like a low stage packed with some of your favourite National Theater characters from the last few years. It was fascinating to see the clothes close up and, unlike some theatrical costumes, the detail was stunning. I loved the fact that the exhibition looked at all aspects of the wardrobe department not just the designers.There was a interesting section on the dressers with a fun video of a quick change, and a look at the people who have to wash and maintain the clothes. They also looked at how clothes sometimes need to be distressed using an army jacket from Warhorse as an example. I think my favourite was a sheer, gold dress from the recent Anthony and Cleopatra with a green velvet coat decorated with gold scarabs.   Closes March 2020 Review Evening Standard

Small but effective exhibition at the National Theatre of photographs by Ronan Mckenzie to mark the Caribbean experience in Britain in response to their current production of Small Island. The images themselves were stunning and effective in the space, given they were shown in such a large format, but not very self-explanatory. Reading the leaflet I did understand the nuances and how they illuminated the tension between the fantasy and reality of the British-Caribbean experience. The pictures were taken on the coast to include the idea of seascapes and new beginnings and the models were some of today’s emerging theatre-makers dressed in outfits reminiscent of ‘Sunday best’. Closes in September 2019 Review Evening Standard

Fascinating exhibition at the National Theatre celebrating 25 years since their archive was founded. The show had invited theatre makers, academics and artists to choose an item from the archive and to describe why it mattered to them. It was an interesting way to showcase this wonderful collection. I loved the striking display in black and pink. As a librarian I loved a poem written in in praise of the archive with the wonderful line “However archives are not places where history is boxed away never to be seen by the wandering eye again. They are treasure troves waiting to be uncovered.”   I’ve used the poster of Equus as my picture on this entry which was shown with a new puzzle version of it made by one of the graphic designers at the theatre.

Interesting exhibition at the National Theatre looking at how scale models are used for set design. It showed how models had been used in theatre since Ancient Greece and how the standard scale is now 1:25 as it is difficult to incorporate detail in anything smaller. I loved a big display of pencils of different sizes to illustrate what scale means. It then went on to look at six productions in the Olivier starting with the 1977 production of “The Plough and the Stars” to show how scale models had been used in practice. It featured a lot of work by Jocelyn Herbert and included a recreation of her studio with an interview with her from the archive playing on a telephone. Each show featured the scale model used and archive material to describe the design process. It was nice to see show’s I’d seen features such as the recent “Anthony and Cleopatra” and the “Comedy of Errors” from 2011.   The display also discussed how the models are used from being in the room dur...

Interesting exhibition at the National Theatre looking at the role of the theatre in the movement to win the vote for women. The show was mainly information boards and archive photographs. There was good use made of quotes and I was amazed to find that there had been over 100 suffrage plays written between 1908 and 1914. I liked the incorporation in the display of a prison cell to represent the role of the theatre at suffrage fairs including re-enacting prison life. I loved a hand bill of the entertainments at the fair. The show threw up lots of fascinating stories and people you want to find out more about. Actress Muriel Matters flew over London in an airship dropping leaflets and Edith Garrud was known as the jujitsu suffragette who taught self-defence to the suffragettes and set up and trained body guards for the leaders. The Actress Franchise League also campaigned for more opportunities for women in the theatre, the end to unsafe working conditions and the end to...

Charming exhibition at the National Theatre pairing photos of theatre makers by young people alongside childhood photos of the subjects.   The pictures are spread throughout the theatre. I think there was a leaflet listing the works but I never found it so I’m not sure if I caught them all. Some were even   on lift doors which was fun but a little irritating if the doors opened as you were looking at them.   The young people were mentored by professional photographers and spent time getting to know the sitters and the older versions were based on a childhood picture. I loved the picture of Rufus Norris, the current director, covered in mud to match a similar version of his cheeky younger self. Richard Eye was shown in a scarf with anchors on as a nod to the sailor suit in the younger picture. Many sitters showed a real sense of fun and an enjoyment in recreating their youth.   I think my favourite was this one of Simon Callow as he still has the same ...

Thin exhibition at the National Theatre looking at the years it was based at the Old Vic, 1963 to 1976 to mark the 200th anniversary of the Old Vic.   I say thin as it was just information boards with archive photographs. The subject deserved a bigger display with possibly some artefacts to break up the show. It looked at how it championed new writers, directors, actors and designers. It looked at how Kenneth Tynan was employed as a literary advisor and featured the group of young actors in the company including Albert Finney, Ina McKellan and Maggie Smith. I liked the pictures of the offices in Nissan huts behind the theatre. Closed  

Interesting little display at the National Gallery looking at the Manod Quarry cave system where the National Gallery’s pictures were stored in the Second World War. There were good archive photos showing what the caves were like at the time. Brick stores rooms were built to house the pictures and a road under a bridge had to be lowered to get the large pictures in which were stored in large triangular crates called elephant cases. Assistant keeper, Martin Davis, took the opportunity to finish his catalogue research when the works were there as they were easily accessible to look at in detail. These photos joined by more pictures of how the space looks now by Robin Friend. The space is abandoned and the earth is gradually reclaiming it. I loved the large format of these which gave them a very grand feeling like a sublime landscape. You can see the old brick structures and the remains of an elephant case. There was also a mesmerising video of a dance performance in the...

Dull exhibition at the National Theatre looking at the set designs of William Dudley who has worked with the theatre at the Old and New Vic plus on all three stages in the current theatre. Dudley has designed the exhibition himself and it looks stunning as a piece of interior design for a foyer but just consists of photos and sketches. It is quite muddling to work out which show is being shown and the sections running into each other and overlap. The booklet which goes with it helps the narrative but I would have liked to see a bit more commentary on the pictures plus maybe some objects or models to break up the display. It did however remind me of some of the wonderful productions I’d seen that he theatre such as “The Mysteries” and “Lark Rise to Candleford” in the Cottesloe and “The Real Inspector Hound and The Critic”. It also showed me shows which I can’t belief I missed such as “The Coast of Utopia” which looked visually stunning. No closing date given

Interesting exhibition at the National Theatre looking at how the theatre has used posters and graphic design to advertise the plays and build a brand. This was a colourful show and well described as it went through the five artists who have designed over 1700 posters in this 54 year period. It also talked about the fonts which they used the evolution of the theatre’s logo. It talked about how you have to be able to read the picture on a poster from across a street. Striking examples included a wonderful red poster for Maggie Smith’s “Hedda Gabler” her head taking up most of the space, a classy poster in blue, black and white with gold lettering for “The Wild Duck” and from more recent times the striking poster for “The Silver Tassie”. There was also an interesting display on creating the image for the recent “A Taste of Honey” which used a collage of images to build a convincing scene and another on how graphic design can be used in all aspects of a production using “...

Interesting exhibition at the National Theatre looking at three black theatre companies in the late 70s and early 80s. The show is based on the Michael Mayhew Collection which has recently been lodged with the theatre archive. There was a good leaflet to go with it which was helpful as the pictures were not very clearly labelled so you couldn’t tell which of the three main companies the pictures related to. They rolling photographs were beautifully displayed on a back lit board like a roll of film. I also liked a display case in the middle with original negatives in it as well as Mayhew’s camera equipment. You could light this display up with a press of a button. Contemporary artist Cherelle Sappleton had also been commissioned to produce a work for the show but this turned out to be a disappointing banner which I didn’t really understand. It was a very focused show looking at a very specific period. It’s not a subject I knew anything about and I came away fellin...

Lovely little exhibition at the National Theatre looking at the children’s shows they have done over the years. The display was aimed at children and went through the different processes in producing a show with interactive displays. I liked the way it came back to the same shows to give a continuity to the narrative. I loved a film about movement in The Wind in the Willows and a nice display of costumes including Toads motoring suit. It was interesting to note that the actor Arthur Darvill had lent the Long John Silver coat which he’d worn in Treasure Island last year and presumably bought after the show was finished. I also liked a mock-up of the set of Treasure Island which let you play with lighting effects. It brought back happy memories of sitting under the stage at school with a lighting board!