Introducing Soutra Gilmour, the scenographer behind some of the most spectacular and striking productions on London’s West End and Broadway.
While peering at a play, from the audience’s perspective, your attention is often drawn to the more inconspicuous aspects involved in the performance. Each of these productions are upheld by an invisible, yet seismic force, a crucial cog in the theatre machine- a scenographer.
Soutra Gilmour is arguably among the most prominent and accomplished scenographers in the theatre industry at present. Gilmour, whose expertise encompass both set and costume, studied theatre design at the Wimbledon School of Art before going on to work on a series of successful, critically acclaimed productions such as Piaf, Betrayal, Cyrano de Bergerac, A Doll’s house, The Effect and Sunset Boulevard. Her work has subsequently garnered Tony nominations for Best Set Design and Best Costume Design and five Olivier nominations.
Aside from the standard pragmatism of reading scripts, visiting a space and conversing with directors, Gilmour divulges that one’s personal “accumulation of knowledge, collecting of images and allowing time for those to filter through your mind,” is key when embarking on a new project. “Design for theatre is a continuous conversation with yourself and others – it requires a poetic response. It’s a reflection of all your emotional life, that of the collaborators, the space it inhabits and a very visceral response to the moment you are living in,” she shares, “It’s in the mundane moments such as a tube journey, a bath, the 10 minutes before you fall asleep, that sparks are ignited.”
“Design for theatre is a continuous conversation with yourself and others – it requires a poetic response.”
Gilmour combats the mammoth task of designing for set and costume simultaneously and hence imbues performances with a sense of cohesiveness and completion that triumphs. “I wish it wasn’t as it’s an enormous amount of work to do both, but to have the freedom to have the two in conversation, and for them to sit seamlessly together is always going to be a preference,” she admits. “Sometimes on a rare occasion doing only one is like a holiday … have fun in the collaboration, find joy in the mess. Will I ever feel that work is an expression of me .. no probably not.”
At the heart of Gilmour’s sartorial preferences lies the importance of functionality and ensuring that her garments harmoniously meld with the characters for whom they have been created. “My work is a response to how I see and feel the world – how I understand it on quite a molecular level and what feels essential to me to tell the story,” “Are there better costume designers than me? Sure, but I am trying to express an idea not make great costumes.”
“Are there better costume designers than me? Sure, but I am trying to express an idea not make great costumes.”
However, does Gilmour think that the looming advancement of AI in the arts sector and the increased utilization of modern technology is a cause for concern in contemporary theatre production?
According to the scenographer, “no, it’s not.“ At its core theatre is about live humans telling you a story so whilst technology may have material qualities to solve a problem or be used aesthetically, crucial irreplaceable parts of the process are those moments of the wandering mind,” she explains, “Technology might allow for more complex automation or video mapping of course but you need the oldest tool in the book, your imagination to fire it up if it’s going to be any good and touch people.”
That’s not to say that technology doesn’t serve a purpose in her productions, in Gilmour’s words “Theatre makers are magpies and we use everything at our disposal.” In Sunset Boulevard, it’s central to the finished work and provides a great example of where technology can be tactfully interspersed with humanity. “The piece is about a woman who lived her life through film, who is stuck in a movie of her own making,” says Gilmour, “The use of film is narrative and psychological as well as aesthetic and daring – It’s a highly technical feat but provides intimacy, humor and insight as well as bringing a visual drama to the space through a sculptural automated moving LED screen.”
The vast majority of Gilmour’s designs are stark and markedly simplistic, yet laden with symbolism and emotive appeal. This is evident in her extensive and ongoing collaborative work with distinguished British director Jamie Llyod. “Jamie and I have worked together for almost 18 years so it’s very very intuitive,” reflects the scenographer, “We met before he made his first production and I have designed most of the shows he has made so it’s been the most cohesive and comprehensive artistic collaboration of my career.” “We have always had a symbiotic relationship and take equal responsibility in pushing ourselves forward and trying new ideas whilst also being clear about the core ideas that have always existed for us.” It is this intimate understanding and shared vision that makes theirs such a perfect pairing “The process is organic – snippets of conversation, shared ideas, late night catch ups, a text, a photo – but knee deep in an understanding we have of each other and for us, efficient. It allows for imaginative, immediate work I hope and I think people respond to this,” says Gilmour of their approach.
“You have to be brave enough to have strong opinions and listen to your own intuition, but also brave enough to listen to others. Say no… but be brave enough to say yes. Work crazily hard, be open to learning, keep your sense of humor and persevere.”
This year alone Gilmour and Lloyd have worked with National Theatre on the revival of Lucy Prebble’s The Effect, starring Taylor Russell, they staged a modern take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, starring Tom Holland and they created a bold reconceptualization of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger, which recently transferred from London to Broadway. Despite this, their dynamic partnership shows no signs of slowing down. Following the announcement that Lloyd would direct a season of Shakespeare plays at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane commencing this December, Gilmour expresses her excitement at being involved yet again “Our new project coming up is The Tempest at Theatre Royal Drury Lane with Sigourney Weaver. There is nothing about that sentence that is not good. A great play in a great theatre with a great iconic actor who is part of our collective cultural history.”
Although working in the theatre industry is seemingly challenging and daunting to enter into, it can be equally rewarding and creatively liberating. Gilmour emphasizes “You have to be brave enough to have strong opinions and listen to your own intuition, but also brave enough to listen to others. Say no… but be brave enough to say yes. Work crazily hard, be open to learning, keep your sense of humor and persevere!”
Homepage images, top by Tom Francis (Joe Gillis) and cast of Sunset Boulevard; Sunset Boulevard. Tom Francis (Joe Gillis) & Nicole Scherzinger (Norma Desmond). Inside feature image Sunset Boulevard. Tom Francis (Joe Gillis) & Nicole Scherzinger (Norma Desmond). All images courtesy Marc Brenner/Jo Allan PR.
