West End Theatre Magic - Behind The Scenes
- Studio Loz
- May 27, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 13, 2024
This is what Theatre means to me.. the behind the scenes people, who work all hours creating beautiful, inspirational work that folds together so seamlessly on stage. It’s the first thing i look at and its the one thing i will have passion for, for the rest of my life.
I’ve put together a gorgeous blog post filled with incredible works from some of the most talented artists in the West End. I hope you enjoy the collection of stunning work and collaboration from some of the most iconic shows in London..
A message to the makers, the creators, the designers and the talent we don’t see .. thank you for the wonderful work you do.. Theatre wouldn’t be Theatre without you. You are the magic.
CABARET
@kitkatclubldn
I’m sure you’re not surprised that Cabaret is top of our list considering its almighty achievement of 7 Olivier awards plus 4 nominations including set, costume, lighting design and Theatre Choreographer.
In this instance we find a rare case of being able to stalk the costume, makeup and hair artists on our favorite platform instagram.. these socials take us on a vivid journey of intimate, beautiful work- that one can only dream of creating.
Feast your eyes on the prolific costume designer that is Tom Scrutt and follow his journey of design from start to finish, including intricate photographs of the costumes themselves in all of their fine glory. What a treat!! Below you will see Tom’s designs in sketched form and the photography of the costumes up close, not to mention the images of this work folded together with makeup and performance on stage!
You will also find a journey of creativity, in make up designer and artist @guycommon .. he takes us through the thought process of every look, inspiration included.. what more could we really ask for but to see inside the actual thought process that created such characters to come alive on stage. Guy was helped along the way with wig master @samuel_james_wigs and @society_makeup - both pages provide us with beautiful craftsmanship and skill, give them a click and head over to a wonderland of talent!
It really is a rarity to find the whole team showcasing such beautiful work. To see this in photo form can only inspire .. and for that we are so grateful to be able to mention these artists personally.
Enjoy the collage of wonderful photos collected from the talents mentioned above.
A true commendment to behind the scenes artists at its most golden hour!
You can see this glorious show at the popular venue of the @kitkatclubldn and purchase tickets here: https://kitkat.club/cabaret-london/tickets/
LION KING
“ Disney‘s beloved film will redefine your expectation of theatre”
One of the things i will always love about Lion Kings social platform is the ability and recognition it gives its behind the scenes artists. Lion king is an array of creativity, craftsmanship and incredibly hard working artists, behind the scenes bringing magic to life on stage. The close up photos you see below of these artists, from wood sculpting to each brush stroke of paint, to the individual beads placed on a head piece, Lion Kings ability to showcase this on there socials is what we love to shout about.
Alongside its incredible actors, singers and puppeteers, the on stage production is a magnificent specatacle of beautifully crafted head sculptures, costumes, makeup and wigs. It is by far a delight to watch this amount of love on stage, and one that will indeed stay with you forever.
Head over to Disney UK on Youtube to watch behind the scenes footage if all things backstage and sink into a world of enchantment.
Grab tickets to see show here.. https://thelionking.co.uk/london/
WICKED
I was lucky enough to be invited to the latest media night of WICKED 2022 and it was real pinch me moment. Sat amongst famous faces on row 3 of the stalls, as the curtain went up, my eyes started to stream with tears.. I was so overwhelmed with the set design and costume and of course that beautiful orchestra - just ahead, where i could see every wave of the conductors wrist.
It was this night that inspired me to write this blog post.. The costume design for me fills my heart with happiness.. from head to toe you can see the hard work put into every costume. The Emerald green collection for me is the stand out.. the head pieces really are something else and the seamstress and tailored design is a sight of beauty!
I have to mention my obsession with the monkeys, albeit a little strange, i found myself mesmerised by them, every time one would appear i would loose focus of the show and watch the movement so intently to the point where i had to shake my head to return to the leads. It’s the special effects and the wings that caught my eye in particular.. SFX is a real Showstopper for me and seeing the level of work put into the monkeys, really is something special. Such wonder is created on stage with the SFX and costumes all tied in with the set design.
Enough about those lovely monkeys, WICKED have a fantastic collection of YouTube videos on there page of behind the scenes artists and an inside peak to the wardobe.. if you get a chance, head over to this link and view the artists talking about hair, makeup and costume.. it really is a treat, and so fascinating to see the detailing that goes into every aspect of this show.
Susan Hilferty - Costume Designer
"My goal was to create a third world, a world that we considered to be a parallel universe," Hilferty told Entertainment Design magazine. "It's a world where animals can talk, so we know it's not our world. It's a world that deals with a kind of inventiveness, things that we might call magic. The boundaries of the world are different than anything we know or are familiar with, but at the same time, the issues for the people of this world of Oz are in many cases the same kind of issues we deal with. So I knew it had to be something that was of the imagination but in some ways had to thread back to things that we knew."
Head over to the WICKED website for tickets and more..
HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD
@craigforrest_thomas head of wigs and makeup at the cursed child ,who we mention a lot on our blogs, creates a magical space on his Instagram, one we have always been mesmerised by. It truly is so wonderful to be able to delve into close up shots and videos of the makeup and wigs being applied to each charater on this show.. How wonderfully personal.
How grateful we are to watch a master and his team at work. Below is a collection of these photos and we are just so truly inspired, not a hair out of place is the term! The finnesse aplied to every look is raw skill and one will we will never tire to witness OR shout about.. head over to Craigs instagram to witness such perfection.
Huge shoutout to the team behind @cursedchildldn who showcase the artists with such depth, we absolutely love to see this!
Book tickets now to see the magic on stage at: https://uk.harrypottertheplay.com
MOULIN ROUGE
Welcome to the Moulin Rouge, where Catherine Zuber creates a spectacle in every item of clothing you lay your eyes on! Wigs and hairpieces and gorgeous makeup applied and should i have mentioned the set design first?
Upon entering the Piccadilly Theatre you will find ones self completely captivated by beautiful drapes, lighting and every shade of red, you could ever imagine.. When Moulin Rouge uses the word Spectacle, it is absoloutely not used in vein, it truly is every ounce of the word and more.. A gorgeous world recreated, that encaptures your thoughts and overwhelms your senses! Can you tell im a fan?
Social platforms captivate your creative mind by showcasing beautiful drawings of all of the costumes, all whilst @daisy_the_barburr (deputy head of wigs and makeup) journals her beautiful wigs and makeup behind the scenes. Gorgeously fitted wigs and stunning headpieces sculpted to perfection.
”From the second you enter you know what to expect: a musical with a heart of gold that seeks to entertain and overwhelm in equal measure. It is so over the top, it’s irresistible.” Whats On Stage.
Everybodys welcome at THE MOULIN ROUGE!
Photography by the wonderful talent that is Mr Matt Crockett on behalf of Dewynters.
DEATH DROP
When we saw that the incredible @florencias_wigs was involved with Death Drop we had to showcase this collection.. a marvel of wig work and an insane potfolio of utterly perfect wigs, sculpted to nothing short of perfection.. we could scroll for literal hours on Florencia‘s profile, filling our minds with beautiful hand crafted works of art.
Wigs and makeup teamed with costume design from @isobelpellow and this show really is a treat for sore eyes.. an explosion of character and colour.. we couldn’t be more grateful than to witness all the backstage glory in little boxes of images on instagram..
A shoutout to the prolific photographer that is Matt Crockett - a well known artist in the theatre world and beyond, who captures still imagery to absolute perfection, EVERY SINGLE TIME. Follow his journey on instagram for a gorgeous, ongoing collection of beautifully captured photographs.
Please note Studio Loz does not own the rights to any of the above imagery, all images have been taken off of the instagram accounts that have been linked above. Please do not use the above images without referencing the original owner, the images are individually referenced with the website they have come from when clicked on.
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