“General” Front & Back - the Royal Exchange Theatre

Designer Simon
Higlett believes
that the Royal
Exchange Theatre
is the perfect
venue for Peer Gynt,
and that the key to
creating the play’s
different locations
lies in
understanding the
architecture of the
building.
“People are always
saying to me that
working in the round
must be far more
difficult for a designer,
but I think it is much
more liberating. I firmly
believe that theatre
design is about designing
theatre and not about
designing scenery. There
is a massive difference.
“The Royal Exchange
Theatre has been
beautifully designed to
tell stories and you
don’t need any scenery.
The most important
thing is the actor and
that is where I start. I
break down each scene
and ask myself what is
the message we have to
convey? It becomes a
sort of Stanislavski
exercise - asking what is
Peer Gynt’s purpose in
each scene. I do a
breakdown like that
even before I think of
visual images.
“I was trained by the
man who designed this
theatre and this space is
the embodiment of
everything he believed
about theatre. The floor
is made of oak planks
because they are the
“There can’t be any other space in the world that can do a play
which is so much to do with the world in which we live, the
mysterious, imaginary world and the world of the gods. No other
theatre can do that as well as this theatre.”
colour of the earth.
Usually designers cover
the floor but in this
show we simply have the
bare boards, in accord
with the philosophy of
the building.
“Trying to find one
object or group of
objects which conveys
the essence of a scene is
very difficult. For
instance, in the Egypt
scene there is no way
you can have a full-size
Sphinx! I had the idea of
a ladder leaning against
something so big that
you never see the top of
the ladder. At first
Braham [Murray,
director] was not sure,
but in rehearsal it works
perfectly. It is amazing
how little you need to
tell a story.
Braham Murray, Director
“I’m not producing
traditional costumes on
a page which is quite
difficult for the actors to
cope with. For me it is
fantastic because I have
their bodies and I can
drape fabric round them.
For example I had no
idea what the character
of the Greenclad One
looks like physically, but I
found a piece of fabric in
a shop in London. It is a
beautiful, animal piece of
fabric and I know it will
be stunning but there is
no rhyme or reason of
why it should work. I am
working on instincts.”
With costume designs taking shape organically, designer Simon Higlett must work
closely with the production wardrobe team.