Theatre / bristol old vic theatre school
Nicholas Nickleby: Meet the team: Oscar Selfridge
This month we’ve got a series of interviews with cast and crew members from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s forthcoming two-part production of Nicholas Nickleby at Bristol Old Vic (June 14-22).
Our third conversation is with Oscar Selfridge, the show’s set designer and a graduating MA Theatre Design student. Before starting at BOVTS, Oscar worked as a freelance scenic carpenter for several theatres and companies in London, including the Barbican and National Theatre, as well as designing and building a handful of small theatre productions. Oscar took time out of the design studio to tell us more about his vision for Nicholas Nickleby.
Where did you start with the set design for Nicholas Nickleby?
I started my research by looking at old etchings by Gustave Doré and William Hogarth. They both drew chaotic depictions of early nineteenth-century life amongst the boom and growth of the Industrial Revolution. As my research continued, I always found myself drawn back to these initial images and was keen to incorporate some of the etched textures and mark-making that brought these images to life.
Oscar Selfridge and Emma Inge (Scenic Artist) at the School’s scenic workshops
What have been the most challenging aspects of the design process?
The sheer number of scenes and locations in this play has been most challenging. Because the play moves swiftly from place to place, we have had to conjure a set that is malleable enough to work for both interior and exterior settings and hop between them at a fast rate. We wanted to keep the sense of adventure that is intrinsic to the play by allowing the actors to enter the space from all directions and to journey about and through it.
Inside the ‘Nicholas Nickleby’ rehearsal room. Pic: Mark Dawson Photography
What’s it like designing for a 250-year-old theatre?
One of the best aspects of the Theatre Design course is that we get to work on actual productions in professional theatres. It has been a privilege for the last production I work on to be at Bristol Old Vic. I would be lying if I didn’t say it was daunting as well, but it has been an amazing opportunity to design on such a scale and on such a stage as this.
What can the audience expect from your design?
All 26 of our final-year actors weaving through and inhabiting the Bristol Old Vic Stage from different and unexpected directions, using it like a playground to tell the epic story of Nicholas Nickleby’s life and adventures.
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s production of Nicholas Nickleby is at Bristol Old Vic from June 14-22, in two parts.
For more info and to book tickets, visit bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/nicholas-nickleby-part-one and bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/nicholas-nickleby-part-two
Oscar’s designs, and those of the other graduating Theatre Design, Scenic Art and Costume students from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School can be seen at the Generate Exhibition at the Royal West England Academy (RWA) from June 28-July 4.
is needed now More than ever
Read more: Nicholas Nickleby: meet the team: Eve Kershaw
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