Our young costume designer winners are announced
At the end of last year, we launched a competition for young people across our Birmingham schools, to design a costume for our distinctively Birmingham version of Shakespeare’s ever popular comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream – The House stage directorial debut form our Artistic Director Joe Murphy, co-directed with Deputy Artistic Director, Madeleine Kludje.
Our Creative Learning team sent a call-out to their network of primary and secondary schools across Birmingham and wider parts of the West Midlands for pupils to design fairy-costumes, where the winning design would be brought to life by A Midsummer Night’s Dream designer Carl Davies and our in-house wardrobe and costume department, to be used in the production.
Over 200 imaginative entries were received, showcasing extraordinary creativity, originality and engagement with the wonder and environmentalism of Shakespeare’s magical tale. From these entries, 10 finalists were selected by a judging panel, which included Carl, who then selected two joint winners.
Co-directors Joe Murphy & Madeleine Kludje, who praised the finalists, said:
“We were so impressed by the creativity and imagination shown in these designs. Each finalist has engaged so inspiringly with the magic, mischief and imagination of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, while bringing their own playfulness to the designs – honestly it was hard not to use them all.
“This competition was about opening the doors of The Rep to local young creatives, and the results have been truly inspiring. These winning designs capture the spirit of A Midsummer Night’s Dream while showing the incredible talent that exists in our community.
We couldn’t be prouder to showcase their work on our stage. Congratulations to all our finalists and a huge thank you to everyone who took part.”
The 10 finalists are (in no particular order):
Huraina (5), Billesley School; Farzaana (10), Billesley School; Maryam (10), Billesley School; Swara (8), Nelson Primary School; Jun-Kai (8), Robin Hood Academy; Anaya (11), UOB School; Silvia (9), Bellfield School.
With a special mention to the runner up: Sasha (8), Billesley School.
And finally, the joint winners who will see their designs on stage are: William (11), UOB School and Nifrah (6), Billesley School.
Both winning designs impressed the judges with their bold use of colour, strong character interpretation and whimsical sense of fantasy.
All the finalists were invited to attend The Rep to meet Joe and Madeleine, as well as receive a backstage tour of the theatre.
The Rep would like to thank all participating schools, pupils, and teachers for their enthusiasm and creativity. The competition forms part of The Rep’s ongoing commitment to inspiring young people through theatre and storytelling.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream will open to audiences on Sat 25 Apr – Sun 24 May. Further details about casting and the production will be announced shortly.