Costume design by Hugh Stevenson for Othello in a programme of scenes from Shakespeare, British Council tour, early 1950s

Costume design by Hugh Stevenson for Othello, showing full length bearded dark-skinned male figure wearing doublet and trunk hose in red brown, white frilled at the neck and wrist, with ochre bands and buttons, the sleeve bands interspersed with white ovals indicating slashing, grey green tights and red brown shoes with ochre decoration; around the neck is an ochre yellow chain. Over this is a robe of bright yellow with handing sleeves decorated with 'ethnic' braids at edges, the collar and front edges of palest turquoise green, bound at the waist with a sash of pale orange with purple and green stripes. In the ears are bold hoop ochre earrings. To the right side is a sketch of a high crowned hat. The design is inscribed with the name of the role and is signed and dated.
The ochre paint is used to indicate gold braid or metal.

Cyril W. Beaumont Bequest

This is one of 25 designs by Hugh Stevenson for a programme of excerpts from Shakespeare devised for a British Council tour in the early 1950s. It was performed by a small company led by Walter Fitzgerald and called for costumes that would clearly indicate the different characters while allowing for quick changes. This Stevenson achieved by creating a basic costume in the Elizabethan style for each actor to which were added robes, tunics, overdresses or accessories.
The designs are part of the collection that came to the Museum from the dance historian and publisher Cyril Beaumont and may originally have formed part of the London Archives of the Dance.

Historical significance: A group of designs showing how a designer solves the problem of creating costumes for a programme of extracts from various Shakespeare plays (which means allowing for quick changes), by creating several basic costumes which can be adapted, or to which accessories can be added, to indicate specific characters

S.168:1-2000