Costume Design
1954 (designed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean.
Christopher Fry’s verse play The Dark is Light Enough (1954) is set in the Countess Rosmarin Ostenburg’s country house at the time of the Hungarian rebellion against the Austrians, 1848-1850. The dying Countess with pacifist principles selflessly harbours Gettner, her former son-in-law and deserter from the Hungarian army. The play received mixed reviews following its transference to Broadway, New York in 1955. Critics praised the acting and sets but objected to the play’s obscure meaning.
Margaret Johnston (1917-) played the role of Gelda, one of her first parts as a young, married woman, after a string of roles playing old women spinsters. Messel’s design describes the character’s hair and makeup.
Christopher Fry’s verse play The Dark is Light Enough (1954) is set in the Countess Rosmarin Ostenburg’s country house at the time of the Hungarian rebellion against the Austrians, 1848-1850. The dying Countess with pacifist principles selflessly harbours Gettner, her former son-in-law and deserter from the Hungarian army. The play received mixed reviews following its transference to Broadway, New York in 1955. Critics praised the acting and sets but objected to the play’s obscure meaning.
Margaret Johnston (1917-) played the role of Gelda, one of her first parts as a young, married woman, after a string of roles playing old women spinsters. Messel’s design describes the character’s hair and makeup.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Charcoal, Chinese white, pencil and ink on paper |
Brief description | Costume design by Oliver Messel for Gelda in Christopher Fry's play The Dark is Light Enough, Aldwych Theatre 1954. |
Physical description | Portrait sketch by Oliver Messel for Gelda in a H. M. Tennent production of The Dark is Light Enough, 1954. Charcoal, pencil and ink wash sketch of a young woman's head and hair. The hair is tied in a bun. |
Dimensions |
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Production type | Design |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Credit line | Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A |
Object history | The Dark is Light Enough is a verse play in three acts by Christopher Fry. Oliver Messel’s production was first produced by H. M. Tennent Productions Ltd. on 30 April 1954 at the Aldwych Theatre, London. It was directed by Peter Brook with music by Leslie Bridgewater and featured Edith Evans as the Countess and James Donald as Gettner. The play ran for seven months in London and then went to New York where it opened in 1955 with Katharine Cornell as the Countess and Tyrone Power as Gettner. Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel's nephew, inherited Messel's theatre designs and other designs and artefacts. The designs were briefly stored in a disused chapel in Kensington Palace before being housed at the V&A from 1981 on indefinite loan. The V&A Theatre Museum purchased the Oliver Messel collection from Lord Snowdon in 2005. |
Production | Reason For Production: Commission |
Summary | Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean. Christopher Fry’s verse play The Dark is Light Enough (1954) is set in the Countess Rosmarin Ostenburg’s country house at the time of the Hungarian rebellion against the Austrians, 1848-1850. The dying Countess with pacifist principles selflessly harbours Gettner, her former son-in-law and deserter from the Hungarian army. The play received mixed reviews following its transference to Broadway, New York in 1955. Critics praised the acting and sets but objected to the play’s obscure meaning. Margaret Johnston (1917-) played the role of Gelda, one of her first parts as a young, married woman, after a string of roles playing old women spinsters. Messel’s design describes the character’s hair and makeup. |
Bibliographic reference | Pinkham, Roger (ed.) Oliver Messel, London, V&A, 1983
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Other number | ROT 657 - TM Rotation Number |
Collection | |
Accession number | S.72-2006 |
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Record created | May 24, 2006 |
Record URL |
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