The first out of two major projects in our third year was a speculative design project. This project gave us the opportunity to design a set and full costume scheme for a very modern play with quite a challenging script, 'A Village Idiot' by Samson Hawkins. This however, came with the added pressure of a chance to win the Playhouse Prize, an opportunity to design a show for the Nottingham Playhouse’s Neville studio, commencing in the following academic year. Due to this, we had ongoing contact throughout the project with the theatres Head of Participation and inhouse director, Martin Berry, who was able to critique our designs as we went from our white card models to our final concepts. The script was incredibly hard to grasp at first, with a playwright such as Hawkins who has no reservations when it comes to the grittier aspects of life. Though there are delicate topics covered such as sexuality and race, Hawkins is able to incorporate a sense of humour, creating a continual light-heartedness about the play.

​

After a lot of research and experimentation I decided to focus my concept on a small scale, 'homemade' production, placed in a large theatre, such as the Playhouse. I became aware that to make my production look intentionally poorly made I had to research shows with a similar concept which had been both successful and unsuccessful, as there is a danger in this not being portrayed well. Most of the shows I researched relied heavily on lighting design, to make the production look professional whilst using minimal set design. We were also guided by Andrew Quick, the theatre's production manager, who was able to educate us about the practicalities of our designs, bearing in mind what is available in the UK, costs and physical restraints.  I thoroughly enjoyed this project, with the opportunity to work alongside industry professionals and designing for a renowned theatre within the UK, with the chance to win such a beneficial opportunity, useful for gaining contacts for my future career.