Peter Gale, the publicist for Apollo Theatre in Newport, describes the backstage work for the theatre’s latest production: Around the World in 80 Days.
Peter says:
“Open the door of the Apollo Theatre wardrobe department and you might think you’d stepped into Aladdin’s cave. Shelves groaning under the weight of rolls of fabric; piles of books on historical garments; wigs and exotic hats (many constructed by the skilled wardrobe team) on stands; long rails of clothes all labelled according to the name of the actor who will wear them. On one wall hang parasols, pictures from past productions, pieces of complicated embroidery and beading, a pair of angel’s wings and ‘thank you’ cards from actors. Shelves of crates and jars, each labelled things like ‘lace edging’, ‘fringe’, ‘hat veiling’ and many, many more, line other walls. A legal wig gazes sternly down on us while a pile of garments waits to be taken to the wardrobe store up two flights of stairs in the theatre’s attic. A list of the forthcoming season’s productions, with a pile of scripts, waits on the worktable, ready for the team to start thinking about the requirements of the next show.
Article continues below this advertisement “All this wonder is managed by the Apollo’s tiny wardrobe team. The size of the demand placed on them by ‘Around the World’ is almost unprecedented, with its cast of 11 who play a total of 66 characters between them – one of them, who also happens to be one of the wardrobe team, plays ten parts! Some of the costumes are made from scratch, while others are sourced from stock – the wardrobe store, which fills an attic the size of the whole footprint of the theatre, contains tens of thousands of pieces, from dresses, suits, coats to hats, shoes, stockings, ties, gloves, jewellery of all periods. The list is endless. The theatre recently received a donation of dozens of wonderful costumes from a former actor and singer, which will all be sorted and sized and hung in the attic ready for their moment in the limelight.
“And of course ‘dressing’ a show isn’t just a case of finding the right dress or suit: all the accessories have to be right, too. The team comes in 2 or 3 times a week as opening night approaches, living and breathing the story – and even then their part isn’t over. There will be 4 dressers backstage every night plus a group of 6th-formers from Cowes Enterprise College who are studying drama and will be coming in to help out. The speed of some of the costume changes, and the need to have people on hand in case of wardrobe emergencies, means that sometimes there are almost as many people backstage as there are on it!
“This play, of course, is particularly complex. Shows at the Apollo can range from small cast productions, often in contemporary dress, to large casts and complicated historical costumes, but the team rise enthusiastically to each new challenge, whether large or small, and approach each one with the same calm professionalism. They are some of the ‘unsung heroes’ of the theatre.”
Around the World in 80 Days runs from 12th to 20th July at Apollo Theatre.
