Not currently on display at the V&A

Irma la Douce

Costume Design
1979 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Costume design by Voytek for the Third Bar Fly in Irma la Douce by Alexandre Breffort (original book), Julian More, David Heneker and Monty Norman (book and lyrics) and Marguerite Monnet (music), directed by Billy Wilson and produced by Paul Elliott in association with Ray Cooney, Brian Rix and Brian Hewitt-Jones. The production opened at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford on 6 November 1979 and transferred to the Shaftesbury Theatre, London on 27 November 1979.

Dubbed Voytek by George Devine, Wojciech Roman Pawel Jerzy Szendzikowski (1925-2014), was known for his distinctive designs for the stage, theatre and film. Drawing his elaborate designs from in depth analysis of each script or screenplay.

Winning the Military Cross for his role in the Second World War, Voytek transferring first to Italy and then to Scotland after the end of the war where he enrolled at the Dundee Art Collage. In 1947 he moved to London, becoming a student of stage design at the Old Vic Theatre School. His career as a stage set and costume designer began with the Nottingham Playhouse whist his work on TV drama began with ABC Television and on film with Roman Polanski’s Cul-de-Sac.

His theatrical works concentrated on major regional theatre and touring companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Nottingham Playhouse, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Shared Experience; he was head of design at the Liverpool Playhouse from 1981-1982.

The collection this design is from also contains working drawings, model pieces, photograph, production notes as well as press cuttings and programmes relating to Voytek’s career as a production designer for the stage, television and film.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleIrma la Douce (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil on paper
Brief description
Costume design by Voytek for the Third Bar Fly in Irma la Douce, produced by Paul Elliott in association with Ray Cooney, Brian Rix and Brian Hewitt-Jones, 1979
Physical description
This design depicts the Third Bar Fly in blue dungarees and a white shirt. He wears a blue cap and smokes a cigarette.
Dimensions
  • Height: 38cm
  • Width: 25.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
'3rd Bar Fly'
Translation
Credit line
Given by the artist
Literary referenceIrma la Douce
Summary
Costume design by Voytek for the Third Bar Fly in Irma la Douce by Alexandre Breffort (original book), Julian More, David Heneker and Monty Norman (book and lyrics) and Marguerite Monnet (music), directed by Billy Wilson and produced by Paul Elliott in association with Ray Cooney, Brian Rix and Brian Hewitt-Jones. The production opened at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford on 6 November 1979 and transferred to the Shaftesbury Theatre, London on 27 November 1979.

Dubbed Voytek by George Devine, Wojciech Roman Pawel Jerzy Szendzikowski (1925-2014), was known for his distinctive designs for the stage, theatre and film. Drawing his elaborate designs from in depth analysis of each script or screenplay.

Winning the Military Cross for his role in the Second World War, Voytek transferring first to Italy and then to Scotland after the end of the war where he enrolled at the Dundee Art Collage. In 1947 he moved to London, becoming a student of stage design at the Old Vic Theatre School. His career as a stage set and costume designer began with the Nottingham Playhouse whist his work on TV drama began with ABC Television and on film with Roman Polanski’s Cul-de-Sac.

His theatrical works concentrated on major regional theatre and touring companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Nottingham Playhouse, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Shared Experience; he was head of design at the Liverpool Playhouse from 1981-1982.

The collection this design is from also contains working drawings, model pieces, photograph, production notes as well as press cuttings and programmes relating to Voytek’s career as a production designer for the stage, television and film.
Other number
THM/153 (Voytek Archive) - Archive number
Collection
Accession number
S.1655-1994

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Record createdSeptember 2, 2014
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