costume design
Design
2018 (designed)
2018 (designed)
| Artist/Maker |
This costume design was created by the designer Bunny Christie for the production of Company at the Gielgud Theatre in 2018. The production, directed by Marianne Elliott, was a revival of the Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical which originally premiered in 1970.
Company explores themes of love, marriage and relationships. At her 35th birthday party, Bobbie is surrounded by her friends (‘company’), five couples who pose the question of why Bobbie isn’t married yet. Through several vignettes featuring her boyfriends and married friends, Bobbie self-examines her relationships and what it means to commit to another person.
In a first for the musical, Elliott’s production changed the gender of a number of the characters. In the original book, Bobbie is Robert (Bobby), Bobby's three boyfriends are female, and her friends, same-sex couple Jamie and Paul, are Amy and Paul. Sondheim approved the changes and worked with Marianne Elliott on revisions of the lyrics to reflect her vision of a 21st century Bobby/Bobbie: A successful and independent woman facing pressure to settle down and have a family in her mid-30s. Rosalie Craig played Bobbie, with Patti LuPone as Joanne, Mel Giedroyc as Sarah and Jonathan Bailey as Jamie. The production was designed by Bunny Christie, choreographed by Liam Steel and conducted by Joel Fram.
Company received two Evening Standard Awards, two Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and four Olivier Awards. Rosalie Craig and Marianne Elliott won Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical Performance and Best Director. Bunny Christie was the Critics' Circle choice for Best Designer and she also received the Olivier Award for Best Set Design.
Company explores themes of love, marriage and relationships. At her 35th birthday party, Bobbie is surrounded by her friends (‘company’), five couples who pose the question of why Bobbie isn’t married yet. Through several vignettes featuring her boyfriends and married friends, Bobbie self-examines her relationships and what it means to commit to another person.
In a first for the musical, Elliott’s production changed the gender of a number of the characters. In the original book, Bobbie is Robert (Bobby), Bobby's three boyfriends are female, and her friends, same-sex couple Jamie and Paul, are Amy and Paul. Sondheim approved the changes and worked with Marianne Elliott on revisions of the lyrics to reflect her vision of a 21st century Bobby/Bobbie: A successful and independent woman facing pressure to settle down and have a family in her mid-30s. Rosalie Craig played Bobbie, with Patti LuPone as Joanne, Mel Giedroyc as Sarah and Jonathan Bailey as Jamie. The production was designed by Bunny Christie, choreographed by Liam Steel and conducted by Joel Fram.
Company received two Evening Standard Awards, two Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and four Olivier Awards. Rosalie Craig and Marianne Elliott won Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical Performance and Best Director. Bunny Christie was the Critics' Circle choice for Best Designer and she also received the Olivier Award for Best Set Design.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | costume design (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil, paper and cotton |
| Brief description | Costume design for 'Bobbie' in Company, designed by Bunny Christie |
| Physical description | Costume design for the character 'Bobbie' played by Rosalie Craig in Company including three pencil sketches of different outfits and a red fabric swatch. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | BOBBIE
ROSALIE CRAIG
COMPANY
2018
DRIVE A PERSON CRAZY...
NOT GETTING MARRIED |
| Gallery label | Re:Imagining Musicals, 15 October 2022 - 4 February 2024
Company
Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s 1970 musical Company focuses on perpetual bachelor Bobby and his carousel of married friends. In the 2018 West End revival, director Marianne Elliott radically reinvented the production, changing the gender of the male lead ‘Bobby’ to the female ‘Bobbie’ (played by Rosalie Craig). The focus on a 35-year-old single woman in the 2010s, in contrast to a man in the 1970s, drew critical acclaim for its relevance to the contemporary societal and peer pressures on women to ‘settle down’.
Original Broadway cast recording of Company
1970
Designed by Russell/James Associates
Printing ink on card
Museum no. BMT/2/1/573
Given by Overtures: The Bunnett-Muir Musical Theatre Archive Trust
Costume design for Bobbie in Company
2018
Designed by Bunny Christie
Pencil and ink on paper
Museum no. S.11-2022
Given by the designer(2022) |
| Credit line | Given by the designer |
| Summary | This costume design was created by the designer Bunny Christie for the production of Company at the Gielgud Theatre in 2018. The production, directed by Marianne Elliott, was a revival of the Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical which originally premiered in 1970. Company explores themes of love, marriage and relationships. At her 35th birthday party, Bobbie is surrounded by her friends (‘company’), five couples who pose the question of why Bobbie isn’t married yet. Through several vignettes featuring her boyfriends and married friends, Bobbie self-examines her relationships and what it means to commit to another person. In a first for the musical, Elliott’s production changed the gender of a number of the characters. In the original book, Bobbie is Robert (Bobby), Bobby's three boyfriends are female, and her friends, same-sex couple Jamie and Paul, are Amy and Paul. Sondheim approved the changes and worked with Marianne Elliott on revisions of the lyrics to reflect her vision of a 21st century Bobby/Bobbie: A successful and independent woman facing pressure to settle down and have a family in her mid-30s. Rosalie Craig played Bobbie, with Patti LuPone as Joanne, Mel Giedroyc as Sarah and Jonathan Bailey as Jamie. The production was designed by Bunny Christie, choreographed by Liam Steel and conducted by Joel Fram. Company received two Evening Standard Awards, two Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and four Olivier Awards. Rosalie Craig and Marianne Elliott won Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical Performance and Best Director. Bunny Christie was the Critics' Circle choice for Best Designer and she also received the Olivier Award for Best Set Design. |
| Associated objects | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.11-2022 |
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| Record created | January 19, 2022 |
| Record URL |
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