Every four years The Society of British Theatre Designers celebrates UK theatre design with a combination of books, exhibitions and events. This also feeds into the UK display at the Prague Quadrennial.
Last time round, we had an exhibition at the V&A, which included my design for Deafinitely Theatre’s 4.48 Psychosis. This time round, it’s a three-part publication series including a catalogue representing the breadth and diversity of UK theatre design, and a programme of regional events and exhibitions.
My entry this time round is the set – a converted horsebox, in fact – that I designed for Plot17. One of my favourite projects, it’s a mobile hip-hop block party for ages 7+, travelling the world raising awareness, inspiring action and spreading the message of “making things green”. The lead artist on the project, Kenny Baraka, is himself a force of nature, producing amazing lyrics and inspiring the youth up and down the land. It’s a great show, made a brilliant team, but it’s also a doing something really important by making the business of caring about nature and the environment accessible and cool for thousands of kids. And it’s out touring again this year.
If you’re interested in contemporary set design, you can get the catalogue for yourself here. But, as a preview, here’s my page, including production photos by the brilliant Suzi Corker:
PLOT17
Credits: Written by Kenny Baraka
Performed by Kenny Baraka & DJ D’Vo
Designer: Paul Burgess
Stage Management: Frances Allison
Photography: Suzi Corker
Producer: Lisa Mead
Original Music: Drew Horley & Conrad Kira
Assistant designer: Rad Konieczny
Show developed with Carl Ford
Commissioned by Apples and Snakes
(If somehow you’ve managed to get through life without knowing Apples and Snakes, well, they’re England’s leading spoken word poetry organisation, I’ve been working with them on and off since 2007, and they’re completely awesome.)
Paul Burgess 