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Week 5

This week the cast have moved out of the rehearsal room and have started the technical rehearsals on the Globe stage. Often actors and directors will call this ‘Tech Week’. These are the first rehearsals where all the different parts of the production are brought together. The musicians perform live for the first time and the actors are in full costumes and use their performance props. All the sound cues are tested, at theatres other than the Globe lighting cues will be tested as well. The technical rehearsal is often lengthy, with the Othello cast spending a few days running through the entire play.

This week for the creative brief we’d like you to design a set for Othello. You can see from the photos of the fight call below some glimpses of what our set is like, why not have a go at the creative brief on the right. Read our interview with the designer Hannah Clark below to find out how she created the look for Othello.

You can also watch an interview with the director of the production, Bill Buckhurst, talking about how the Globe space will be used in Othello.

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Week 5 Video

Week 5 Images

The cast with fight director Kev McCurdy during Tech rehearsals.

The cast rehearsing a fight during Tech.

The cast rehearsing a fight during Tech.

Freddie [Cassio] & Leon [Montano] rehearsing a fight.

Costumes are changed and altered throughout tech rehearsals to ensure they are comfortable for the actors.

The cast rehearsing a fight during Tech.

Leon [Montano].

Jessica [Bianca] and Georgina [Emilia].

The cast during Tech week.

Dickon [Brabantio & Lodovico] with director Bill Buckhurst.

Freddie [Cassio] with fight director Kev McCurdy.

The cast rehearsing a fight during Tech.

The cast rehearsing a fight during Tech.

The cast rehearsing a fight during Tech.

Freddie [Cassio] & Leon [Montano]

The cast rehearsing a fight during Tech.

Week 5 Blog

Interview with the Designer

What is your process when to comes to designing a set?

I start by reading the play and discussing it with the director to see what ideas they may already have in terms of staging. I then tend to collect reference imagery that is informed by those discussions and then I move onto working with ideas in a scale model which eventually becomes a model of the set.

 

What will the set for Othello be like? Will there be yard elements, audience participation?

The set has all been drawn from WWI imagery - it should evoke the era without placing us in a literal environment as the location changes throughout the play. There will be yard elements which will include participation, parachutes, and zip wires!

 

What atmosphere do you hope to create with the set?

Hopefully the space should feel exciting, dynamic and immersive. Othello as a piece has elements of a psychological thriller - particularly in the second half when the claustrophobic environment of a foreign army base takes over - so hopefully we have created a space which will evoke that thrilling and edgy atmosphere for our audience.

 

What challenges are there when designing a set for the Globe?

 

The Globe as a theatre space is totally unique. It has such a strong visual identity that’s continually present throughout a performance - so you have to work with it rather than against it - encompassing elements of the theatres architecture into the design and emphasising parts of the space rather than attempting to hide any of it. Everything’s exposed as there are no theatre lights so you have to factor that into everything you put onstage - set, costume, props etc. It’s tricky, but it’s a wonderful space to work in.

Creative Brief

Set

A creative brief is given to each member of the creative team working on the project. It is intended to help them structure their ideas and keep a focus on the director's intended vision for the production. Why not be creative yourself and design your own set for the production using our set brief...

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