The Love of the Nightingale

The Love of the Nightingale was my first production designing both set and costume. The design was shaped by a sense of foreboding that runs throughout the play, particularly around the events at sea. While reading the script in St Ives, I photographed the changing sky above the ocean and researched paintings of the coastline by local artists, using their atmosphere as a visual starting point for the production.

The set centred around a single room that remained throughout the play, adapting to create different locations. Architectural research informed a world of affluence that gradually revealed signs of decline, reflecting the erosion of King Pandion’s wealth and the effects of an ongoing war.

Written by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Directed by Will Hammond 
Set and Costume Design by Kirsty Barlow 
Lighting Design by Ellen Butterworth-Evans 
Photo credit: Andrew AB Photography