Designer | Minack Theatre, Cornwall

The unique cliff-top stage of the Minack theatre was transformed into the rusting deck of a 1930s battleship for the production of HMS Pinafore, with bulkhead lights, a working crane, and moveable gun added to the curving stage. The dilapidated turret of the ship provided an upper level entrance for the cast, while backlit portholes marked the passage from day to night. The design reflected the exaggerated style of the operetta and had both a worn and caricatured effect, with rusting metal panels, tattered flags and faded bunting, mocking the deluded self-importance of the show’s various figures of authority.