Costume design by Roger Furse for Jessica Tandy as Cordelia in King Lear, Old Vic, 1940

Roger Furse (1903-1972) was one of the leading British theatre designers of the mid 20th century. He studied at the Slade and in Paris, but abandoned painting for theatre design in the 1930s, becoming well known for his settings and costumes for plays, ballets and films. Furse was particularly associated with the work of Laurence Olivier, for whom he designed the films of Henry V, Hamlet, Richard III and The Prince and the Showgirl, and he frequently worked for the Old Vic, designing Shakespeare productions which starred some of the great names of British theatre.

Furse was responsible for the sets and costumes for productions of King Lear at the Old Vic in 1940 and 1946. The 1940 production, John Gielgud’s second Lear, was directed by Lewis Casson with advice from Harley Granville Barker, and featured Cathleen Nesbitt, Fay Compton and Jessica Tandy as Lear’s daughters. Furse gave the play a Renaissance setting, using heavy brocade fabrics like the one represented in this design for the costume worn by Cordelia in the play's first scene.