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A SATIRICAL OPERA that I was over the moon to be working on. I had the immense honour of being tasked with designing the Gods for this production, and with the director's prompt of having the show be 80s sitcom inspired, I got to connecting various film and TV tropes to the Roman pantheon, a dream come true! The idea behind the designs is that each of the Gods notice a certain 80s trend that reminds of a different period of history that they then dress from.
Jupiter
The King of the Gods is a sleaze and a fervent liar, so what better 80s trope to draw inspiration from that of the used-car salesman. A gaudy patterned shirt, loose tie, ridiculous belt buckle and a regal yet ever-so-slightly too padded at the shoulders really sell the look of a serial-cheating no-good husband who thinks the most romantic disguise is a fly dressed as a Top Gun extra.
Pluto
The King of the Underworld is not terribly dissimilar from his brother, though he takes inspiration from the glam rock aesthetic and takes out his regency clothes and tears them up at the sleeves.
Juno
The conservative wife who has had quite enough of her good-for-nothing husband. It seemed fitting to give the Goddess of Marriage and Peacocks a birdcage veil and a feathered fan.
Diana
Of course the Goddess of the Hunt takes on the persona of a biker-chick. A leather bike jacket, fur-lined cape and a quiver at her side, she's ready to bag her next stag.
Mercury
Likely the only resident of Olympus who actually does any work, Mercury has to whizz around to hell and back in his hybrid postal/jogger outfit complete with winged cap and baseball boots.
Venus
With Country music on the rise, the Goddess of Love embraces the 'Southern Belle' look with a few 80s-palette 1800s cowboy outfits.
Cupid
Being the youngest family member and an angsty teen, Cupid is the perfect candidate for the punk rebel look, and who else would a Roman God see as a role model other than the Celtic rebel Boudica!
Minerva
The studious Goddess of Wisdom is taken to the double-breasted blazers and wide-leg trousers of the 80s business wear, with a sprinkling of Victoriana thrown in. The deerstalker to top it all off was simply elementary!
Morpheus
The humble stoner-dude was the easy choice for the God of Dreams with his wreath of poppies. With a perpetual case of the munchies for ambrosia, the dopey deity loves his baggy oversized shirts and hoodies with elements of medieval garb, inspired by numerous 80s cartoons, the go-to entertainment for any Bill and Ted wannabe.
ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD by Jacques Offenbach
Directed by Matthew Eberhardt
Production Supervisors Liz Isaac, Frankie Carlin & Helen Comerford
Lighting Supervisor Elanor Higgins
Costume Supervisor Jenn Jacobs-Evans
Scenic Supervisors Laura Martin & Louis Smith
Photographer Kirsten McTernan
Set Designer Jenny Ballantyne
Costume Co-Designer Jules Dockstader
Lighting Designer Gabriella Thomas
Stage Manager Georgia Whittaker
Technical Stage Manager Archie White
DSM Alex Lewis
ASMs Holly Evans, Laurie Galvani Spieweck, Benjamin Graham, Angelee Liou
Costume Assistants Daisy Braithwaite-Muriel, Lily Hamblin, Averil Tallack, Charlotte Thornton
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