Costume design by Hugh Durrant for the Ribbon Seller and the Beggar Lady in Act I scene 1 of "Dick Whittington", Birmingham Hippodrome, 1993.

Costume design for the Ribbon Seller and the Beggar Lady in Act I scene 1. The design depicts two full length female figures wearing "medieval" style pantomime costumes. The figure on the left, identified as the Ribbon Seller, wears a costume consisting of a striped pink, blue, green & orange tight fitting lace up bodice worn over a flared blue and orange striped skirt; white apron with an orange, purple & green striped border; and an off the shoulder white blouse with ruffle along the neckline. The figure also wears a "medieval" style hat & wimple, and carries a basket in her left arm.
The figure on the right, identified as the Beggar-Lady wears a ragged and patched brown & black skirt and bodice, shawl, and "medieval" style hat with wimple.

Given by Hugh Durrant

This costume design by Hugh Durrant is part of a group of designs donated to the Theatre Museum by the artist in 1994. The design was executed for a production of the pantomime "Dick Whittington" performed at the Birmingham Hippodrome on 22nd December 1993. The show was directed by Carole Todd, and the lighting was designed by Andrew Gardner. The cast included Lesley Joseph as Fairy Bow Bells, John Nettles as King Rat, Rosemarie Ford as Dick, Jeffrey Holland as Ada the Cook, and Wayne Sleep as Tommy the Cat.

The production was filmed for inclusion in the National Video Archive of Stage Performance at the Theatre Museum in February 1994 (Catalogue numbers 94/04/V/9001 and 94/04/V/9002 ). These designs were partly acquired as a compliment to the film with the aim of recording the creative progress from the designer's drawings to their realisation on stage.

Historical significance: An excellent example of late 20th century costume design for pantomime, which is currently poorly represented in the Theatre Museum Collection.

Reason For Production: Commission

S.758-2001