ABBY CLARKE | performance designer 

This production of Laura Wade's Breathing Corpses was performed in promenade within the theatre space of the O'Reilly Theatre. The conditions of the promenade performance meant that much thought had to be put into sightlines, spaces and encouraging the audience to move within the space. The set itself consisted of four settings - a cheap hotel, a self-storage unit, a kitchen and a garage- which were delineated through the use of fragmented sections of wall. The walls themselves were made from cardboard boxes- drawing on the themes of the hidden and the uncovered within the play- which were decorated hyper-realistically on one side and left blank on the other. Cardboard boxes also hung above the stage with some losely indicating the ceilings of the various rooms, reflecting the fragmented style of the walls. The small sections of wall and sparing use of realistic furniture pieces meant that the various settings blended together, only being defined by the tightly focussed lighting. At the centre of the space was a mound of boxes and screens, on which would be played various media clips; adding context to the character's lives and drawing focus from scene and costume changes of the characters.

Director- Dom Applewhite

Designer- Abby Clarke

Lighting Designer- Clara Halse

Video Designer- Hendrik Ehlers