Design by Roger Furse for a 'fat suit' for Ralph Richardson as Sir John Falstaff in <i>Henry IV, Parts I and II</i>, Old Vic Company at the New Theatre (now the Nöel Coward Theatre), 1945.

In 1945, Roger Furse designed the costumes for both parts of Henry IV, directed by John Burrell. Ralph Richardson was determined to emphasise that Falstaff was Sir John, a knight and gentleman. It was the job of the costume designer and maker to produce a ‘fat-suit’ that could maintain Falstaff’s dignity. This drawing is a rare survival as it shows how the designer envisaged the padding might be constructed. The anatomy is carefully drawn and measured, to give folds of 'fat' at the proper places and follow the muscular structure of chest, back, leg and stomach, and show how the layers fit over each other. The red line indicates Richardson's body within the padding. Because of the difficulty of padding out the face, Furse suggests making the collar high and stiff, so that any spare flesh is forced out on to the jowls. Unlike many designs, which are an evocation of a costume, this is a structured blueprint for the maker, although Furse is not dogmatic, noting that these are 'suggestions as to how it should be made'. In spite of, or maybe because of, the costume, Richardson gave a performance which many considered definitive.

The suit was made by Alix Stone, a future theatre designer, then in her first job as an assistant in the Old Vic workshops. It had an inner layer of towelling, covered in light mackintosh (a rubber-coated fabric) to protect Richardson from the outer layer of horsehair. Stone also created gnarled fat man’s legs using silk padding, over which Richardson wore red stockings.