Designing for the stage

Typescript essay, in which Beaton reflects on the art of stage design. He writes that stage work is always a process of collaboration, and that the designer must judge at what point he should concede something which he knows will undermine his effects, yet serves the overall benefit of the production by means of pleasing the director or an actor. Great stars are renowned for being temperamental, but causing a fuss is generally now considered tiresome and old-fashioned. Beaton goes on to discuss his work with different actresses, including Isobel Jeans, Irene Browne, Martita Hunt, Greta Garbo, Paulette Goddard, Eileen Herlie, Joyce Carey, Lynn Fontanne, Diana Wynyard, Deborah Kerr, Margot Fonteyn, and Jane Baxter.

Published