Not currently on display at the V&A

Into the Woods

Costume Design
ca. 2007 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Costume design by Lez Brotherston for Suzanne Toase as Little Red Riding Hood in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical Into the Woods, directed by Will Tuckett for the Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, 2007.

Will Tuckett directed this production of Into the Woods for ROH2, the contemporary arm of activities at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, during the first decade of the C21st. It operated mostly in the Linbury studio theatre and the Clore Studio, outside the regular productions in the main opera house programme. Will Tuckett and Lez Brotherston collaborated on several of these productions. Into theWoods was generally well received. Critics found the venue ‘ideal for Will Tuckett’s production and in particular Lez Brotherston’s delightful and, yes, magical settings’. Michael Darvell noted that the ‘cast is terrific…The band under James Holmes delivers Sondheim’s score with its own kind of magic and Will Tuckett’s deft and effortlessly fluid production is the cherry on the top of a very rich confection indeed’.
Into the Woods was performed in London, 18-30 June 2007 and transferred to the Lowry, Salford Quays 4-7 July 2007.


Lez Brotherston is one of Britain's most interesting and prolific designers. He was born in Liverpool and trained at Central School of Art and Design, graduating in 1984. He worked extensively for Christopher Gable at Northern Ballet Theatre where he designed such works as Carmen, The Brontes and A Christmas Carol and has designed stage shows for French and Saunders and Victoria Wood. Lez is especially linked with Matthew Bourne's dance company New Adventures (formerly Adventures in Motion Pictures) for which he designed Highland Fling, Swan Lake, Edward Scissorhands, The Car Man and Cinderella. Lez Brotherston's costume designs for Into the Woods display his characteristic figures; often looking to the left, they strike a strong and distinct pose.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleInto the Woods (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil, ink, watercolour and felt tip pen on art board
Brief description
Costume design by Lez Brotherston for Suzanne Toase as Little Red Riding Hood in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical Into the Woods, directed by Will Tuckett for ROH2 at the Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, 2007
Physical description
The design depicts a full length female figure looking to the left wearing a calf length white dress with puff sleeves and yellow basque embroidered with plants and flowers. She wears a hooded red cloak, lace gloves and black buckled shoes and carries a wicker basket containing a blue and white checked cloth. Her hair is plaited into pigtails fastened by green bows. Beside the design are written the words, in gothic script, 'Red' and 'Once Upon...', and on a piece of paper stuck at the bottom left corner there is printed, also in gothic script, the logo for the play, 'Into the Woods'. It is drawn on a page torn from a spiral bound sketch book.
Dimensions
  • Height: 35.3cm
  • Width: 45.4cm
Credit line
Given by the designer
Object history
An extensive collection of designs by Lez Brotherston was donated to the Theatre Museum by the artist in 2002. This design represents an addition to that collection and was donated by the artist in 2008. The design was executed for Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical Into the Woods, directed by Will Tuckett at the Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House in 2007.
Subject depicted
Literary reference<i>Into the Woods</i>
Summary
Costume design by Lez Brotherston for Suzanne Toase as Little Red Riding Hood in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical Into the Woods, directed by Will Tuckett for the Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, 2007.

Will Tuckett directed this production of Into the Woods for ROH2, the contemporary arm of activities at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, during the first decade of the C21st. It operated mostly in the Linbury studio theatre and the Clore Studio, outside the regular productions in the main opera house programme. Will Tuckett and Lez Brotherston collaborated on several of these productions. Into theWoods was generally well received. Critics found the venue ‘ideal for Will Tuckett’s production and in particular Lez Brotherston’s delightful and, yes, magical settings’. Michael Darvell noted that the ‘cast is terrific…The band under James Holmes delivers Sondheim’s score with its own kind of magic and Will Tuckett’s deft and effortlessly fluid production is the cherry on the top of a very rich confection indeed’.
Into the Woods was performed in London, 18-30 June 2007 and transferred to the Lowry, Salford Quays 4-7 July 2007.


Lez Brotherston is one of Britain's most interesting and prolific designers. He was born in Liverpool and trained at Central School of Art and Design, graduating in 1984. He worked extensively for Christopher Gable at Northern Ballet Theatre where he designed such works as Carmen, The Brontes and A Christmas Carol and has designed stage shows for French and Saunders and Victoria Wood. Lez is especially linked with Matthew Bourne's dance company New Adventures (formerly Adventures in Motion Pictures) for which he designed Highland Fling, Swan Lake, Edward Scissorhands, The Car Man and Cinderella. Lez Brotherston's costume designs for Into the Woods display his characteristic figures; often looking to the left, they strike a strong and distinct pose.
Collection
Accession number
S.129-2008

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMarch 31, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSON