21: 2009 - Curtain Up On Murder

This must rate as the easiest set we have ever designed (using the word loosely) or put together. The premise of the play is that it is set in an amateur theatre at the end of a pier, where the cast are rehearsing on a partly-completed set. Funnily enough, we spend quite a lot of time in similar situations while rehearsing, with a few improvised bits of scenery and some furniture that may or may not be anything like what gets pressed into service on the night. Recreating that particular atmosphere was not difficult: the free-standing French windows actually get used, so they were the only thing that needed putting together and apart from that, some random pieces of scenery screwed to the back wall (so they didn't fall over) comprised the entire set build.

The play itself is a little more carefully crafted than the set and quite technical in terms of lighting and sounds. Most of the time it was in semi-darkness, occasionally descending into complete darkness and - for a few brief moments - even having something like full light. Then, with the harsh inspection lamp and some odd, muted stage lights, and a storm raging outside, it was full of looming shadows and actually rather spooky. Since that was the desired effect, it was rather nice to be able to achieve it with such minimal effort.