Costume Supervisor

From your design to stage or screen , bringing your vision to life is my superpower!

SUITE IN THREE KEYS
Orange Tree Theatre

Suite in Three Keys is a Noel Coward trilogy of plays set in the 1960s in a luxury Swiss hotel suite. Three separate stories unfold across two different productions – a full length production A Song at Twilight and a double bill of plays, Shadows of the Evening & Come into the Garden, Maud. These plays were an absolute joy to source costumes for. I found that there are some real vintage gems out there and I love giving them a new lease on life on stage. For Song at Twilight I had the best time sourcing iconic 60s two piece sets. Both Carlotta and Hilde's sets were lucky finds on Ebay, and both authentically vintage numbers fit their respective characters perfectly. Director: Tom Littler Designer: Louie Whitemore https://www.louiewhitemore.com/ Lighting Designer: Chris McDonnell Sound Designer & Composer: Tom Attwood Associate Designer: Jessica Staton Casting Director: Matilda James CDG Assistant Director: Namoo Chae Lee Costume Supervisor: Evelien van Camp Hair and Wigs Supervisor: Chris Smyth Production Manager: Pam Nichol Stage Manager on book: Nell Thomas Assistant Stage Manager: Claire Hill Assistant Stage Manager: Judith Volk Photo's: Steve Gregson

Of the three plays, "Come in to the garden Maud", ended up being my favourite in terms of costume. Anna Mary's night ensemble was quite the challenge. Mid-century nightgowns with matching peignoirs are hard to come by, and to complicate matters we wanted it to be her signature blue/purple colour. I eventually found the perfect one in an Etsy shop in Portugal. After many delivery mishaps (ironically in the UK, not Portugal) it turned out to be the perfect thing. Because of our need for a very specific colour for her evening dress, I decided to make it myself out of the most gorgeous brocade that matched Chris Smyth's wig to perfection. Her over the top style was so much fun to play with. Even her true vintage jewellery fits her favourite colour perfectly. Maud's costume went through the most changes during the rehearsal process. Originally Louie envisioned her in a flowy kaftan but after weeks of rehearsals both Tara and Louie felt like the character needed to feel a bit more grounded. We knew it needed to still reflect her bohemian, traveller spirit though, so trousers seemed an obvious choice. When I came across this beautiful embroidered vintage Nehru coat with Kasmiri embroidery on Etsy, it was a match made in heaven. As a finishing touch we swapped out the original black lining for a pop of colour in peach. Costume and set design: Louie Whitemore Photo's: Steve Gregson