Jessica Worrall got the initial inspiration for her design for
The Wars of the Rosesfrom looking at a familiar scene in most English cities:
a half-completed building site. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether the buildings are being put up or torn down, and frequently the façade of older buildings is retained and braced by scaffolding whilst a new interior is built. This spoke to Jessica as symbolic of the topsy-turvy state of England depicted in Shakespeare’s history plays, in which it sometimes appears impossible to tell if those in power are trying to build the country up or are dead-set on dismantling it.
Another influence on Jessica’s design was a long way from the contemporary world of English cities: she looked at
the paintings of the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel(1525-69). Bruegel used a rich palate of earth colours in his work depicting the everyday lives of peasants in rural Flanders, and the texture, nature and colour of
the materials usedin Jessica Worrall’s design were very important to her.
Together with director, Barrie Rutter, Jessica decided that although the first two plays in the trilogy (
Henry VIand
Edward IV) would both be costumed so as to give them a sense of historical period (the late middle ages), in the final play,
Richard III,
the period would shift to contemporary. This decision to use a
mix of periodwas intended to reinforce the idea that although these plays tell an ancient story, the politics of power, envy and malice they depict are very recognisable and applicable today.
A designer has not only to consider how their design will work in the service of the play(s) but also, and especially in the case of a touring production, how practical the design is.
The Wars of the Rosesneeded a
design for touringto a number of regional theatres over an eight-week period, and it was essential that what Jessica created could be easily taken apart, transported, and re-erected. This meant considering not only how the set looked, but how much it weighed – the scaffolding that is used extensively in the design had to be aluminium, not steel, in order to save weight and make it easier to handle.
