The Wooden Prince, a dancing-play in one act, was inspired by Bartók's interest in folk music and folk lore. The wooden prince of the title is a model, created by a human prince to attract the attention of a princess, but a malignant fairy, wishing to keep them apart, brings it to life and the princess falls in love with it. Fortunately the fairy takes pity on the prince and, in true fairy-tale manner, all ends happily with the lovers reunited.
The production was influenced by the Chinese Peking opera, a theatrical form in which stories are told through movement, singing and complex, often highly acrobatic, movements. The costumes convey character and roles to the audience - thus the wavy patterns on the Fairy's costume are associated with power while the attached flags at the back signify hard kao armour, and the 'armour' is also indicated by the overlapping scales on the breastplate of the costume.
The costume is superbly authoritative, not just in scale, with its large headdress and wide skirt, but in colour, using bold, primary blue and red with black and metallic fabrics. The variety of fabrics breaks up the surface - black floral Lurex, silver woven with tiny silver floral pattern, areas of blue overlaid with waves of black braids, and subtle touches of deep red. Given the costume, the role was somewhat static, but the impression of movement was conveyed by the black braid waves and by the lighter fabric used for the flags, which streamed out behide the dancer or moved subtly when she was still. The front panels are covered with individually applied 'scales', executed in several different black and gold Lurexes, interspersed with the silver floral brocade, which also 'move' as they catch the light. Despite the complexity of the design, the costume never feels fussy; the decoration is so controlled that all the elements are clearly defined.
Prowse was a brilliantly inventive designer, and the appliqué panels and use of different materials to divide up a surface are characteristic of his work. Although he usually designed for the intimate space of Glasgow's Citizens' Theatre on very small budgets, he was equally capable of working on a large scale in opera houses, and this costume would have registered clearly in the vast spaces of the London Coliseum, where the ballet was performed. Its scale and colour 'spotlit' the character of the Fairy, and established her dominance over the drama.
Physical description
[Theatre costume] Dress in Oriental style with a wide stiffened skirt and double stiffened shoulder panels. The bodice of black lurex fabric with gold metallic brocade at the neck. At front a panel in three overlapping sections, the two upper sections covered in individually applied overlapping scales in various black and gold lurex fabrics on a red synthetic fabric base, the curving edges of each panel edged in gold lamé and gold and black braid. The lower panel of red and yellow-gold fabrics, the yellow decorated with lines of black braid. The skirt appliquéd with a variety of black and gold lamés and lurexes in variously curved shapes with at front a wide panel of light and dark blue artificial satin decorated with waves of black braid. The wide sleeves of black metallic lamés and lurexes lined in red. At back of bodice two rectangular openings and fixings for the flags with two loops of gold tape below shoulders to support the flag poles. The underskirts of black cotton with attached hoops.
[Theatre costume] Wide Oriental headdress of moulded hessian painted in red, orange and purple decorated with applied gold cord in curving patterns, surmounted by six small triangular flags of stiffened fabric, two red, two purple and two of gold lurex. Attached to the lower edge on each side three tassels of black thread and a double length of black bobble fringe, the ends of the fringe attached to either side and hanging across the wearer's neck.
[Theatre costume] Three long flags, each attached to a black pole, one pole longer than the others, the two shorter poles joined to the longer central pole with black cord, glued in place, and with short struts running between each to form a triangular structure. The flags designed to fit to the back of the costume on the left side (wearer's left). The outer flag of dark gold lamé with a half circle of cerise satin from the upper edge on the outer side, the inner side of gold lamé; the middle flag of deep orange satin with a dark gold lamé half circle on the outer side, the inner flag of red-purple satin with a red-orange half circle on the inner side, each flag edged in black cotton tape with black stitching ending each half circle. The poles ending in wooden finials painted in red and gold and topped with a blue bead. Each flag attached to the pole by nine loops of black binding tape and to the finial by a length of black and gold cord at its upper end. Attached to the inner flag pole a short length of gold tape, designed to attach to a similar tape on the flag pole on the right hand side of the costume with a press stud and hook and eye fastening.
[Theatre costume] Three long flags, each attached to a black pole, one pole longer than the others, the two shorter poles joined to the longer central pole with black cord, glued in place, and with short struts running between each to form a triangular structure. The flags designed to fit to the back of the costume on the right side (wearer's right). The outer flag of dark gold lamé with a half circle of cerise silk from the upper edge on the outer side, the inner side of gold lamé; the middle flag of deep orange satin with a dark gold lamé half circle on the outer side, the inner flag of red-purple satin with a red-orange half circle on the inner side, each flag edged in black cotton tape with black stitching ending each half circle. The poles ending in wooden finials painted in red and gold and topped with a blue bead, one missing. Each flag attached to the pole by nine loops of black binding tape and to the finial by a length of black and gold cord at its upper end. Attached to the inner flag pole a short length of gold tape, designed to attach to a similar tape on the flag pole on the left hand side of the costume with a press stud and hook and eye fastening.
Date
1981 (made)
Artist/maker
Prowse, Philip (costume designer)
Pope, Patricia (maker)
Bonn & Mackenzie (theatrical costumiers)
Materials and Techniques
[Theatre costume] Lamé, Lurex, cotton, satin, plastic, sequins and braid
[Theatre costume] Hessian, cord, fringe, thread,, cotton, Lurex, fringe, wood and paint
Marks and inscriptions
[Theatre costume] MADE BY / PATRICIA POPE
[Theatre costume] 'Patricia Ruanne'
Dimensions
Height: 240 cm, Width: 150 cm, Depth: 200 cm
[Theatre costume] Height: 70 cm, Width: 74 cm, Depth: 15 cm
[Theatre costume] Length: 184 cm gold flag, upper edge, Length: 190 cm gold flag, lower edge, Width: 41 cm gold flag, measured across width, Width: 45 cm gold flag, measured at pole, Length: 176 cm orange flag, upper edge, Length: 189 cm orange flag, lower edge, Width: 35 cm orange flag, measured across width, Width: 51 cm orange flag, measured at pole, Length: 190 cm red-purple flag, upper edge, Length: 190 cm red-purple flag, lower edge, Width: 41 cm red-purple flag, measured across width, Width: 56 cm red-purple flag, measured at pole, Length: 89 cm central pole, Length: 75 cm both shorter poles
Object history note
The costume was designed by Philip Prowse for the Fairy in Béla Bartók's ballet The Wooden Prince, choreographed by Geoffrey Cauley, London Festival Ballet, London Coliseum, 1981. This was the British premiere of the ballet, staged as part of the celebrations marking the centenary of Bartók's birth. The Fairy was played by Patricia Ruanne.
Descriptive line
Costume for the Fairy in Béla Bartók's ballet The Wooden Prince, choreographed by Geoffrey Cauley, London Festival Ballet, London Coliseum, 1981
Exhibition History
Theatre and Performance (Victoria and Albert Museum, Galleries 103 -106 01/01/2009-31/12/2009)
Materials
Plastic; Paint; Wood; Cotton (textile); Satin; Beads; Sequins; Thread; Braid; Tape; Lurex; Lamé; Fringe; Cord (fiber product); Burlap
Techniques
Painting; Carving; Sewing; Glueing; Forming; Cutting (dividing)
Categories
Entertainment & Leisure; Stage costumes; Hats & headwear
Collection code
T&P
