Monday 25 June 2012

DESIGN FOR THE NATIONAL AIDS TRUST 25th ANNIVERSARY

It was a wonderful evening, and the National Aids Trust raised over £30,000.00.
Many thanks again to all of you for your help, and donation of materials towards the design.

Credits from the brochure:




Online:


PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DESIGN COMING SOON


Friday 22 June 2012

Reviews on Tenet @ The Gate

Yes, there were tea and biscuits... and maths!
A lot of fun, and thought provoking moments.

"The evening is intellectually spry- a collective experiment. If it has a single message, it is that the process matters more than the solution. This is Greyscale's credo too."
THE GUARDIAN, reviewed by Kate Kellaway

"It is a show that champions the idea that we can all be radicals and make a difference"
THE GUARDIAN, reviewed by Lyn Gardner

"Greyscale's brilliant, dexterous examination of Julian Assange- a show that takes innovation as its subject. [...] Tenet mixes two radicals- political and mathematical- and it's the best kind of brain-ache. You have to sprint to keep up, but the result is a complexity unrivalled at the London stage"
TIME OUT

"The conventions of theatre are also up for analysis in a performance that is sardonically served with a 'soupçon of post-modern destruction'"
SPOONFED

more information and reviews can be found on greyscale's website @ http://www.greyscale.org.uk/article/reviews_are_in_for_tenet_at_the_gate_theatre/

On the Design:
"Visual cues work best, like Garance Marneur's stunning Constructivist set and on-stage model box; stylish realisations of the theatrical square-root theory.
EXEUNT Magazine

"On Garance Marneur's bright red set, marked with geometrical lines which continue through furniture and objects and in perspective along black walls [...] with parallel worlds in Chinese boxes getting even smaller by geometrical progression and a black board by a whiteboard for chalking up equations, proposals and instructions they launch out into abstract algebra and then begin to tell the story of Evariste Gallois."
THE BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE

"Garance Marneur's set within a set within a set is a brilliant physicalisation of the central mathematical concept of the play"
WHATSONSTAGE

"Designer Garance Marneur's elegant scarlet classroom includes a doll's-house-sized version of the set- so miraculous it made the audience gasp. It invites us to consider the integrity of scale and its effect on the weighing of truth."
THE GUARDIAN

And a last one on the production...
"Without seeing this piece all over again, which I am sorely tempted to do, it is impossible to fully investigate Greyscale's creation to the level it deserves. Part of my brain is still trying to catch up. Perhaps the best sort of metaphor for Tenet is not an algebraic one but, inspired by the emergency biscuits, a dessert related one. Because really Greyscale is a lot like brain freeze; it makes the head heart, but it is more than worth the pain."
REVIEW

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DESIGN COMING SOON...

CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS- 5 GREAT REASONS TO APPLY TO BA PERFORMANCE DESIGN AND PRACTICE

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Design for TENET @ the Gate Theatre, London

Set Design for Tenet
WORKING A 2D PLAN INTO A 3D SPACE

Symmetry... perfection... some OCD characters... an obsession about Truth and telling the Truth...
messing around with the audience's perception of space.

Our get-in at the Theatre yesterday went well: thorough measuring and tracing work.
I think we all have lines, dots and numbers in our eyes this morning.

Here is a sneak peek
Morning measuring and tracing the space

There are a lot more Design surprises.
Come and join us!







Monday 16 April 2012

An insight into the Design for Captain Crow

This is an interview I did for the Unicorn Theatre on the Design process and where the ideas came from.
Whether you had a chance to see the show or not, I hope you enjoy reading this.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DESIGN FOR CROW...

1st sketch for the stage design of Captain Crow

‘Let’s do this show in total darkness! with torches, lots of torches! Let’s leave the imagination of the kids run wild. And... one question we should both think about: when do we reveal the monster?’

These are my own words but they are very close to the brief I received from director Matt Lenton on our first meeting in the Unicorn cafe, surrounded by a hundred enthusiastic school children who had just come out of the theatre.

Total darkness... How exciting!
But, wait! What am I supposed to design if we cannot see anything?

In this instance, costumes and details became extremely important.
What the beam of a lamp torch across the space reveals becomes the primary focus.
Any detail lit in the architecture of the space or on the characters and what they wear becomes highly significant.

My intentions for the stage design of Captain Crow as a whole was to personify ‘darkness’ through textures by creating a maze of black netting and knits to densify and physically layer darkness onstage.


References of wool knits used to create the netting of the ‘porthole’

A material that is both nurturing (wool knit) but also reminds us of the ominous presence of the seaside environment (fishing nets).

Architecturally, I wanted to create a space that is both epic in scale and at times very intimate.
It was important for the cast to be able to move organically from the world of Will’s family at the seaside, to the ghostly and imaginary world of Captain Crow’s pirates.


Set Design

THE COSTUMES...

There are 2 different worlds in the costumes:
- Will and his family,
- Captain Crow and his crew of pirates.

The costumes of Will and his brothers are all modern dress, Spring/ Summer 2012 High Street Fashion.

The pirates costumes were all made from scratch and more abstract, an overcross of references between pirates and the palette and textures of crows (the bird).


Costumes made by Gyo Kim, Rachael Lee & Mily Choi.

DETAILS ON THE COSTUMES
Crow's Coat

Crow’s headpiece in working progress

Pirate Boots


Gold & iridescent blue sprayed patterns onto Lady Pirate’s leathers.

The palette of the Show:
Blacks, silvers, iridescent blues and golds.

A COUPLE OF PRODUCTIONS PHOTOS
‘Where is that cabin boy?!’


Sunday 15 April 2012

It’s a moment of change. It’s a moment for people to meet in darkened rooms and whisper dangerous ideas.

The Legend Of Captain Crow's Teeth finishes today @ the Unicorn Theatre, sadly.

Now, I'm diving back into the exciting mathematics of our next show with Greyscale: TENET.

The Quintin equation... 
An obsession with symmetry and our perception of space...

We are already in week 2 of rehearsals and the show will open on May 1st @ the Gate Theatre in Notting Hill, London.


Gate Theatre and Greyscale present
TENET
A True Story About the Revolutionary Politics of Telling the Truth About Truth as Edited by Someone Who is Not Julian Assange in Any Literal Sense
by Lorne Campbell and Sandy Grierson

It’s a moment of change.
It’s a moment for people to meet in darkened rooms and whisper dangerous ideas.
Meet Evariste: he is a brilliant mathematician and a very angry young man. 
Meet Julian: he makes people very cross, he’s here to help. If Evariste can keep it together and Julian can keep out of the way then the two of them might be able to explain everything from polynomial equations (easy) to how to change the world (a bit harder) before someone dies at dawn.
TENET brings together two of Europe’s most notorious radicals – the 19th Century mathematician Evariste Galois and the 21st Century’s very own Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange – in a witty, surprising show about about thinking outside the box, radical politics, maths, tea and biscuits.

TENET was developed with support from ALMEIDA THEATRE.



Tuesday 10 April 2012

More reviews...

'But it is Garance Marneur’s atmospheric designs that steal the show'
OFFICIAL LONDON THEATRE

There is a superb set by Garance Marneur with brilliantly varied lighting from James Mackenzie that stretches the height and depth of the space to create an intriguing world beyond the stage.
SPOONFED


Don't miss it, it's not too late!

SPOOKY FUN!


It is Easter Break and you still have a week to take your children to The Legend Of Captain Crow's Teeth @ the Unicorn Theatre in London Bridge.

 'The production is strongly atmospheric and has a nicely developed sense of fun'
'Captain Crow looms like a bogeyman of the imagination. Fun, but check under the bed before you put out the light.'
THE GUARDIAN

'Matthew Lenton’s production whips up a nicely eerie atmosphere and is particularly fine at capturing a world of childhood fears, showing how we latch onto one thing and let it grow in our minds until it blocks out all else.'

EVENING STANDARD ****

'Garance Marneur’s set is darkly lit which provides ample room for atmospheric creepiness and the odd unexpected shock.'
'Altogether, lots of shiver-me-timber-tastic fun for children of any ages.'
THE PUBLIC REVIEWS ****

'At only an hour in length it makes for the perfect Easter treat for the family: a high-quality, well-executed performance for young audiences.'
A YOUNGER THEATRE

'The opening play in Purni Morell’s first Unicorn season as artistic director is a compellingly atmospheric piece with the stage dominated by the huge porthole in Garance Marneur’s set and dark, spooky lighting from James Mackenzie. It’s a promising beginning.'
THE STAGE

'a simple story simply told, well-paced and well-played with Garance Marneur's design and James Mackenzie's lighting making it extra spooky'
BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE


Tuesday 3 April 2012

PRESS NIGHT TONIGHT IN LONDON BRIDGE!

Don't miss the latest show I designed. 
The Legend of Captain Crow's Teeth is now up and running for 2 weeks at the Unicorn Theatre in London Bridge.


It's big and it's dark!

Follow this link to book tickets:

Wednesday 22 February 2012

More on Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel and elegance

by PAULO COELHO on FEBRUARY 22, 2012


A woman has the age she deserves.
There is no time for cut-and-dried monotony. There is time for work. And time for love. That leaves no other time!
Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress.
Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future.
Elegance is refusal.

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.
Fashion fades, only style remains the same.
Look for the woman in the dress. If there is no woman, there is no dress.

Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity. Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.
Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.
Since everything is in our heads, we had better not lose them
In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.
There are people who have money and people who are rich.
by Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel (19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971), a pioneering French fashion designer

Sunday 19 February 2012

Measure for Measure @ The Swan, Royal Shakespeare Company

IT'S NOT TOO LATE!
Measure For Measure is running until 10th March 2012. Do not miss it.

'Garance Marneur's outrageous design compliments the action.The result, a world in which fine actors explore all the comic and tragicomic potential of one of Shakespeare's least played, least understood dramas.'

'Just great theatre at its very best. 
Naughty but very, very nice', BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE

'A penetrating production', THE INDEPENDANT

'A smart revival', THE GUARDIAN

To book tickets, please go to the RSC website: http://www.rsc.org.uk/buy-tickets/measure-for-measure/

Friday 17 February 2012

TRANSFORMATION & REVELATION: GORMLEY TO GAGA. UK DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE 2007–2011


17 March 2012 – 30 September 2012

Room 104

In association with the Society of British Theatre Designers


Dear All,
Following the Prague Quadrennial International Exhibition of Performance Design in June 2011 where my designs were exhibited, I am proud to announce that my work has been selected again to represent the UK along with the work of 30 other very talented designers including Anthony Gormley and Es Devlin with Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour, and will be part of a 6 months exhibition at the V&A from March 2012.

For more information, please visit: 

Sunday 29 January 2012

THE LEGEND OF CAPTAIN CROW'S TEETH

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2012.

To start the year, I will be designing The Legend of Captain Crow's Teeth, based on the book by Eoin Colfer at the Unicorn Theatre in London.

The show will be directed by Matthew Lenton, Artistic Director of Vanishing Point.


A Unicorn Theatre Production
30 March- 15 April 2012

For more information, please visit: