Robert Jones costume design
Costume Design
1981 (drawn)
1981 (drawn)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Richard O'Brien's musical, The Rocky Horror Show opened in 1973 and quickly acquired cult status. It became a film in 1975, making a star of Tim Curry who created the role of the outrageous bisexual Dr Frank N. Furter, and has been staged on Broadway and in theatres throughout Britain. This costume design for the Oldham Coliseum production was made by Robert Jones, who was then the theatre's trainee designer on an Arts Council bursary. Jones, who had trained at Central School of Art, went on to work at the major British regional theatres, design for West End productions and for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, and create sets and costumes for theatres and opera houses in Europe and America. His design for Jeffrey Longmore as Frank N. Furter plays on the idea of The Rocky Horror Show as a film: the design is mounted on a backing of glossy black card and the edges of both paper and card are spray painted to suggest a film strip. The design is an amusing object in its own right, contrasting Dr Frank N. Furter's bulging muscles with the short skirt of the nurse's uniform, and uses a variety of media to indicate the desired effect of the costume, with a plastic mesh placed across the figure's legs becoming his fish-net stockings.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Robert Jones costume design (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Pen and ink, water-based paint, gold paint, crayon, photocopied material and plastic mesh on paper , mounted on card |
Brief description | Costume design by Robert Jones for Frank N. Furter in Richard O'Brien's musical The Rocky Horror Show, Oldham Coliseum, 1981 |
Physical description | Design for Frank N. Furter showing a muscular transvestite in a short nurse's uniform. The figure in pen and ink and water-based paint with a photocopied head attached at an angle and painted. The legs of the figure overlaid with a black plastic mesh to represent fish-net stockings. A blue swatch attached in the upper right hand corner. The design is on paper mounted on glossy black card, all edges of the design and card spray painted with a row of small squares, the design with grey-black, the card with gold. Annotated, signed and dated in bottom right hand corner. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions |
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Gallery label |
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Object history | This design was made for the Coliseum Theatre Company's production of Richard O'Brien's musical The Rocky Horror Show, Coliseum Theatre, Oldham, 1981. The musical was directed by Dion McHugh with costumes by Robert Jones and sets by Jenny Blincow. |
Summary | Richard O'Brien's musical, The Rocky Horror Show opened in 1973 and quickly acquired cult status. It became a film in 1975, making a star of Tim Curry who created the role of the outrageous bisexual Dr Frank N. Furter, and has been staged on Broadway and in theatres throughout Britain. This costume design for the Oldham Coliseum production was made by Robert Jones, who was then the theatre's trainee designer on an Arts Council bursary. Jones, who had trained at Central School of Art, went on to work at the major British regional theatres, design for West End productions and for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, and create sets and costumes for theatres and opera houses in Europe and America. His design for Jeffrey Longmore as Frank N. Furter plays on the idea of The Rocky Horror Show as a film: the design is mounted on a backing of glossy black card and the edges of both paper and card are spray painted to suggest a film strip. The design is an amusing object in its own right, contrasting Dr Frank N. Furter's bulging muscles with the short skirt of the nurse's uniform, and uses a variety of media to indicate the desired effect of the costume, with a plastic mesh placed across the figure's legs becoming his fish-net stockings. |
Bibliographic reference | This object features as an illustration in 'Out on Display: A selection of LGBTQ-related objects on display in the V&A', a booklet created by the V&A's LGBTQ Working Group. First developed and distributed to coincide with the 2014 Pride in London Parade, the guide was then expanded for the Queer and Now Friday Late that took place in February 2015. |
Collection | |
Accession number | S.1093-1982 |
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Record created | May 15, 2008 |
Record URL |
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