"Transformation and Revelation: Gormley to Gaga", this display in the Theatre and Performance Galleries taking place March 17 – September 30 will celebrate the work of over 30 of the most pioneering British theatre designers, architects and artists to have created for performance over the last four years. The selected works on show will range from costumes for live opera and drama to video projections for stadium music concerts and will illustrate how each designer looks for new ways to transform space, light, sound and body for the stage.
Transformation and Revelation will feature drawings, photographs, scale models and costumes, as well as sound, lighting and multi-media installations to present the distinct personal vision and inspiration of each of the designers. Each display case will give a behind-the-scenes insight into the creative processes of each designer – from initial idea, early sketches and models to the final creation for live performance. A number of display cases will also be exhibited amongst the V&A collections, sited in the Paintings Gallery, within the Tapestry Gallery and along the Leighton Corridor.
Some of the highlights featured in the display will include Rae Smith’s original drawings for the digital projections in the National Theatre’s West End production of War Horse (2007), Antony Gormley’s preparatory sketches for the dance work Sutra produced by Sadler’s Wells (2008), a scale model of Ralph Koltai’s theatre designs for An English Tragedy (2008) and photographs and models of Es Devlin’s creations for Lady Gaga’s Monsterball Tour (2009-2010). Work by internationally recognised designers Marie-Jeanne Lecca, Bob Crowley, Richard Hudson and Paul Brown will also be shown alongside emerging British talents such as Hyemi Shin, overall winner of the Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design (2011).
Transformation and Revelation will include the 13 exhibits chosen to represent the UK at the Prague Quadrennial Exhibition of Performance Design and Space (June 2011), as well as a further 24 designers exhibited in the Society of British Theatre Designers’ National open exhibition in Cardiff (March 2011).
