Old Vic Theatre School showcases costumes, props and more in new exhibition

With projects ranging from pig heads to petticoats, a new exhibition showcases the vast talent that the students at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School have to offer.

Over the past year, creatives at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School studying costume, performance design and production arts have hand-created an assortment of costumes, sets and props that rival those seen on the West End.

Students are now showcasing the fruits of their labour, in GENERATE, an exhibition being held at Paintworks.

The sheer number of hours that each student has put into their projects is abundantly clear. The exhibition is a treasure trove of art and sculpture where each piece offers a vision of the past or a glimpse of the future.

Nudie Suit, a BA (Hons) costume interpretation made and designed by Evie Akerman – photo: Millie Pick

“We had a five-week creative process where me, the director and the other designers came up with this world”, explains Olivia Jamieson, a student graduating from a Masters in performance design at Bristol Old Vic.

“Then, we hit the ground running and we made it in construction and props at the same time as rehearsal. So, it was a collaboration where all of us theatre makers, whether a director, designer, actor, you’re all working together and having constant conversations which evolve and catalyse more design”, Olivia continues.

A a 1:25 scale model of the set for Loam, created by Olivia Jamieson – photo: Millie Pick

One of Olivia’s projects was for Bristol Old Vic’s Loam, a graduate show and eco-comedy about society’s relationship to the ever-present but changing climate emergency.

“Our director is Marcus Romer. He came to us with the brief of essentially just creating a projection space, and this projection space is really important because it had to be very flexible for this play”, she says.

Evie, a BA (hons) costume interpretation made and designed by Laura Pogose – photo: Millie Pick

With climate change an ever-pressing issue, Jamieson’s response to such a brief was enlightening. The sterile-white stairs and linear composition created a corporate-coldness.

Charlie Rowen, a student graduating from a foundation in costume design, spoke about her experience working on the costumes for another of Bristol Old Vic’s recent graduate plays, Catastrophe Bay.

“My job was bringing in the history and bringing in the accuracy”, she says. “All of the women had a corset and petticoat and many layers of skirts and aprons and all sorts of accessories to really make the costumes lived-in and real.”

Astrid’s Helmet – How to Train Your Dragon, made by Laura Pogose – Photo: Millie Pick

“Part of the challenge was just the amount of costumes that we had. We were very fortunate to hire most of them but, of course, they all needed lots of work done to them to either make them look more broken-down and lived-in, or to take up all the layers and sew things on”, Charlie continued.

The countless hours of work and sleepless nights were evident when looking at these costumes. The level of intricacy from each ruffled skirt to every tailored coat conveys the students’ talent and passion for costume design.

This free exhibition runs from Tuesday, July 5 to Thursday, July 7 2022 at Paintworks Event Space. For more information, visit www.oldvic.ac.uk.

Main photo: Millie Pick

Read more: Review: Catastrophe Bay, Bristol Old Vic – ‘A Striking, Rip-Roaring Tale’

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