Productions Featured

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

• Director: Michael Boyd
• Designer: Tom Piper
• Lighting Designer: Heather Carson
• Opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
• In repertoire from April 1998 to spring 1999
• The set features a 7.5 metre high staircase, a spiral staircase going underneath the stage, and a number of trapdoors. Programme 1 looks at the making of the set and the props, and how an actor 'falls' through a trapdoor. Programme 2 looks at the making of the costumes, hats and make-up.

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

• Director: Michael Boyd
• Designer: Tom Piper
• Lighting Designer: Robert Bryan
• Opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
• In repertoire from November 1996 to summer 1998
• The set features a full-size artificial tree, in which the actor playing Benedick hides. Programme 1 looks at how this tree was made.

The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd

• Director: Michael Boyd
• Designer: Tom Piper
• Lighting Designer: Robert Bryan
• Opened in the Swan Theatre
• In repertoire from April 1997 to spring 1998
• The play ends with the four protagonists dying on stage, covered in blood; and one character bites out his own tongue. Programme 2 looks at how these stage effects were achieved.

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

• Director: Adrian Noble
• Designer: Anthony Ward
• Lighting Designer: Howard Harrison
• Opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
• In repertoire from February 1998 to spring 1999
• The set features a vast 'pebbled' floor, a real fire, and a huge shell. One actor has to appear from above the stage as the Harpy; another has to be covered in body make-up as Caliban. Programme 1 looks at how the set, the shell and the Harpy's wings were made. Programme 2 looks at the creation of the make-up.