Both the theatre and costume courses at NTU were invited by Nottingham's Playhouse theatre to have a tour of this show's set followed by a panel and the show in the evening. I had previously been backstage on the mainstage of the Playhouse when working on a speculative design for this theatre, A Village Idiot, although during this first tour there wasn't a show currently on and the backstage/ main stage areas were being used to paint the the backdrops for the upcoming pantomime, Dick Whittington. With the tour for the Beekeeper of Aleppo, the set and costume designer Ruby Pugh and the Associate director Nadia Emam gave us a detailed explanation of the behind the scenes, showing us aspects such as how the set will break up to tour. It was great to see the set close up as well as from afar as we watched the show in the evening I sat up top and you can no longer notice the lines in the flooring or where the fabric is attached to the framing. For most audience members, they are oblivious to these aspects but as a designer it is interesting to know the technical side of things behind a great looking design.
The show premiered at a very poignant time, just days after a devastating earthquake which effected a large area of the middle east both Turkey and Syria, including Aleppo, the Syrian city where the play is based. Though a very touching story already, the emotion was elevated when considering how much the residents have been through in the past few years. Besides the emotional aspect, there was comedic relief which made it an enjoyable watch. The set was incredibly versatile, with only two main set pieces and one solid structure used in various ways, one of my favorite's being the bed used as a boat when crossing over to Greece. Aided by projection and sound this scene was incredibly believable and the whole space was transformed. During the panel Ruby also disclosed there would be a technical trick towards the end of the show, using magnets to drop the fabric within the frames to the floor, revealing a sparse structure, a beautiful metaphor for the main character dropping his walls and beginning his journey of healing.
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