Costume Design by Peter Todd
I joined the crew of Hansel & Gretel as the costume assistant for the Christmas show in 2018/2019.
I had the pleasure of working as the costume assistant on LCB's production of The Canterville Ghost at The Peacock Theatre.
‘Tomorrow’ choreographed by Jasmin Vardimon. Performed as part of JV2's 2017 tour at Sadler's Wells and around the country.
Co-designed with Lily Fendall.
The piece is a fusion of work from Jasmin’s celebrated repertoire, reshaping memorable moments from Park, Justitia, 7734 and Yesterday into a new piece. The original costumes were misplaced so Lily and I had the opportunity to design and make original costumes.
The dance has no narrative, but is more an expression of movement and emotion. Jasmin was happy for us to put our own spin on the costumes and design something new - her only requirement was to keep to tones of grey to keep the feel of the piece true to the original. As the piece is more about celebrating Jasmin’s style and expression, we focused on complimenting the body through sections of pleating to create a very small flutter as the dancers move. We used the pleats to give each dancers’ costume something different and to flatter the individuals body. We incorporated a suggestion of military uniforms to echo the way the dancers move almost in military format - this idea developed into an almost 'survival victim' aesthetic. A couple of the dancers needed a section of blood on their chests for a duet, so we designed removable embroidered patches inspired by Erin Endicott's work.
Photos by Bill Knight
‘Vohlfs’ choreographed by Christine Gouzelis & Paul Blackman (Jukstapoz Co.). Originally performed by JV2 in 2014. Performed as part of JV2's 2017 tour at Sadler's Wells and around the country.
I worked on this piece with Michela Bruschini - we re-designed/re-worked the original costumes from the 2014 run to align with the choreographers' new vision as they wanted to change the piece considerably for the 2017 tour.
The piece had a punk vibe so our main concern was to make the costume fit that aesthetic. The dancers wore black skinny jeans and ripped t-shirts. The red fringing was chosen to exaggerate the movement and symbolise blood soaked fur in an almost fleshy/meaty way. We also made a prop costume of a giant hooded black coat that was ripped apart in the opening scene by the wolves.
Photos by Bill Knight
I had the pleasure of working as the costume assistant on LCB's production of The Secret Garden at The Lyric Hammersmith.
Photo: Nigel Norrington
Wimbledon International Music Festival award for best dance design 2016.
Degree show exhibition work.
A re-design of Rambert’s Black Angels, 1976, choreographed by Christopher Bruce. The brief was to update a piece from Rambert’s archive, introducing new meaning whilst respecting the choreographer’s original intent. The project was a collaboration with choreographer Javier de Frutos and Rambert’s archive.
The dance piece is very powerful and dramatic and one of Rambert’s most highly praised works. It tells the story of the fallen angel, where forces of good and evil wage their eternal struggle. The work depicts the soul’s journey - it’s departure, absence and return. It is a ballet about the Christian religion, but it deals with universal themes.
My re-design, inspired by religious street art, is a commentary on the contemporary attitude towards religion and the current political environment we have in the world due to religion.
The religious street art and graffiti that informed my designs were bold and direct, communicating their message instantly making a statement - the Black Angels’ costumes needed to be as striking as this public art. Dressing the angels in bulletproof vests, inspired by Banksy, instantly expresses the dangerous message about religion that I had intended.
I used the dancers’ wings, integral to the choreography, to explore more of the street art influence, it represents the angels carrying the weight of their past in their arms. I have illustrated this using street art research references, however, if it was a fully realised piece I would suggest commissioning a street artist to create artwork for each character. The different characters represented by each dancer is communicated through their wingspan, suggesting a hierarchy within the angels. Christ is also without his bulletproof vest to symbolise his sacrifice.
Degree show exhibition work.
This costume depicts an ‘eco-warrior’ - a modern freedom fighter, a protestor, an environmentalist. Campaigning for her causes as a modern Boudicca, in an outfit to intimidate the opposition. She lives in an eco-village where the community shares a free religion and spirituality and gender roles are non-existent. I designed the costume as an extension of her everyday attire - a practical, utility outfit she has put together herself to assert dominance during protests.
