PHAEDRA'S LOVE (2021)

Edmonton, Alberta
Costume Designer

Bleviss Laboratory Theatre

Phaedra's Love by Sarah Kane

Directed by Amanda Goldberg

Set, Props, and Lighting by Skye Grinde

Photos by Mat Simpson Photography

(L-R) Jacquelin Walter, Claire Sonmor, Shyanne Duquette

(L-R) Shyanne Duquette, Claire Sonmor, Alice Wordsworth, Chris Pereira, Jacquelin Walter

(L-R) Jacquelin Walter, Claire Sonmor, Shyanne Duquette, Alice Wordworth

(L-R) Claire Sonmor, Jacquelin Walter, Tai Amy Grauman

(L-R) Alice Wordsworth, Any Northrup, Shyanne Duqtte, Jacquelin Walter, Tai Amy Grauman

Design Notes

Phaedra's Love was one of the first plays I read during my undergrad, so it was a sort of bookended experience for me to be on the otherside of an academic journey, designing costumes for this fiercely bloody show.

The director and I centered our shared image vocabulary around the images of melting wax, burning structures, and artificial materials. The colour palette became very stark black against the white -- to contrast the very grey moral worlds these characters lived and the notion that image Phaedra herself evoked for "burning" for Hippolytus's love and attention, and ultimately, destroying this outdated vestige of the monarchy in the present day. The infusion of plastic within their costumes came back to the resistance to outfit these people in precious metals, but that their reign is merely a facsimile of the past glory.

The plastic became increasingly important as it was a means of symbolizing connection and desire where we had to be socially distancing actors and even a practical material as this show was full of blood!

Scroll through the gallery below to see all costume renderings.