Arts Thread

A stage adaptation of William Golding's Lord of the Flies, written and directed by Paige Thomas. My role was as costume designer and supervisor for the nine-cast show. I began by researching the history of school uniforms and the differences between state school vs public school uniforms, as social class is distinguished between some of the characters. Thomas set her adaptation in a dystopian 2043, during WW3. I looked at other near-future sci-fi examples of costuming, such as Blade Runner 2049, which had a similar polluted feel to the world that Thomas was creating through lighting and mist effects in our stage performance. I developed a khaki green, beige and monochrome colour palette to give a cohesive look on stage. My concept for the costumes developed around the idea of clothes of the future becoming more practical and utilitarian; with lots of pockets, zips, detachable trouser-shorts, muted colours as less toxic chemicals used for dyeing, clothing becoming more sustainable. I liked the idea that some of the boys may be wearing these seemingly practical clothing, that in the real wilderness, deserted on an island with no adults, their clothing is really of no help at all, and they gradually shed their layers throughout the play down to minimal white vests that had been soiled and muddied. Working with the actors, we experimented with how they could use their costumes as props as well as clothing, swinging the ties around or tying the jumpers in different ways, and it was cool to watch as it was different each time they performed.