Moon on a Rainbow Shawl - National Theatre

Design
An interview with Soutra Gilmour
What inspires you most about being a set designer?
Being a set designer allows you to enter different
places constantly. Whilst working on this play set in
1947 Trinidad, I am also working on The Duchess of
Malfi set in 1600, a play set in New York, a play with
music set in the coal mining district of Durham in 1968
and another in eighteenth-century London. Each has its
own aesthetic, architecture and fashion to consider, as
well as the complex requirements of the play and the
qualities of the theatre. I get to channel them through
my own taste, passions and opinion.
So you are constantly expanding your knowledge of
the world as well as challenging your own abilities to
respond to each new play and space.
What initial preparation did you do for <strong>Moon</strong> on a
Rainbow Shawl?
I of course first searched for pictures of Trinidad in
1947 but it was quickly clear that there was only limited
material available. So I looked at the surrounding
area, as far afield as Havana and Buenos Aires, which
had similarities in terms of the Hispanic architecture,
colours and heat, levels of poverty and dilapidation
to the buildings, paint finishes and colour – and the
sunshine.
Part of the he almost-painted set model
for <strong>Moon</strong> on a Rainbow Shawl
Photo courtesy of Soutra Gilmour
I had been in Buenos Aires three years ago and took
a lot of pictures in the poorer parts of La Boca and
Palermo which had very similar one-storey architecture.
I looked at interesting housing projects in Mexico where
buildings have been built on top of others. I even looked
at the animation film Chico and Rita with its courtyards
and simple rooms.
What is your intention for the play’s set design and
the audience’s relationship to it?
One of the key elements is that I want them to feel that
they are in the yard, that they are inhabitants of the yard
staring in on the action. This adds to the sense of the
pressure cooker. I want explicit evidence of the lack of
privacy of the people that lives there, that everyone has
a close knowledge of each other’s personal business.
I wanted the faces of the audience to be literally in the
yard.
What was the most enjoyable aspect of the set
design and creation?
I particularly enjoyed working with the painters, prop
supervisor and costume department in making the
world of the environment, and really developing the
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