Blood Wedding was my Main House production in my third year of university. While the original script by Lorca is set in 1920s/30s Spain, our adaptation took a more modern inspiration, set in Wales and pulling themes from Berlin night clubs. Modern themes were mixed with the traditional script to create a unique blend and aesthetic vision. As our production was immersive, we had to work collectively to ensure the play could be enjoyed by everyone.
My role for this project was scenic artist and set decorator, which included combining natural themes with the industrial night life scenes. The first half is set in a rural wedding, for which I took key themes from the script such as orange blossom to dress "wedding tables" for the audience to sit at. There were orange table runners, candles and a flower centre piece at each, so that the table wasn't too distracting from the action. I designed table names so that our audiences could be sat at tables with the cast. For the first half I also dressed the altar, with tall candles, flowers, shells and pine cones. This was reflected in the foyer dressing to welcome the audience to the atmosphere of the show. As our show was produced in a black box environment, we wanted to disguise and integrate the metal truss, as it fits well for the nightclub, but needed more of a natural feel for the first half. We disguised the bases of the truss with carved polystyrene tree trunks, which transitioned into dyed sheets of fabric to represent branches to the top of the truss.
The second half is a huge contrast to the first. The audience are brought back into an entirely different world, where plastic sheeting has been brought down to box off the viewing area. The audience are stood for the second half inside the plastic sheeting, with the actors moving around them. The lighting and atmosphere is much more intense, and silent disco headsets are used to present the dialogue over the club level music. I put together the sheets and also painted branches that transform the altar into a DJ desk.
I really enjoyed working on this production, as well as working backstage during the shows.

Director - Duncan Hallis
Stage Manager - Ashley Knibbs
Designer - Rob Axtell
Assistant Designer - Nicole Julier-Goodwin
Props and ASM - Ashling Ryan
Scenic Artist  and Set Decorator - Imogen Bissett
Costume Designer and Maker - Rhiannon Lloyd
Costume Assistant - Dion Miles-Pengilly
Lighting - Callum Casey
Sound - Danny Muir
Sound Assistant - Sam Measor
Professional Photos - Lloyd Greyshon