THE RED PALACE
"With that, we’re off, let loose to explore the various areas of the palace and their inhabitants. The first thing to strike me is the design of this production, every bit as grandiose as anticipated from its palatial title. As I make my way through each segment (five or six to choose from in whatever order you please), I am struck by the beauty and detail in each setting, all designed and lit well.”
- London Theatre 1
"The evening belongs to set and costume designer Maeve Black, who has truly outdone herself on this production. The Vaults tunnels have been used to their full potential and transformed into the impressive red palace; Baba Yaga’s attic would make the likes of Mystic Meg and Professor Trelawney jealous; while the mermaid’s bathroom makes you feel as though you’ve gone under the sea. Black’s imaginative design works well with Michelle Etherington’s lighting design to create an atmospheric production.”
- From Page to Stage
"The Vaults comprise a network of tunnels and performance spaces beneath Waterloo Station, and they’ve rarely been put to better use than in this immersive fantasy production. The dank, wet tunnels have been transformed into a medieval palace, a forest, boudoirs and cabaret spaces to powerful effect. Despite having visited the Vaults many times before, the space felt both new and exciting, with a real sense of mystery and discovery. All the sets have been designed with taste, exuberance and a tremendous attention to detail. You sit on comfortable chairs and sofas as you experience each story, drink in hand, and if you choose you can wander at will through the sets and stories. The script is witty and naturalistic, and performed with gusto by the uniformly strong cast. Celine Lowenthal’s direction is full of surprises, with the characters ad-libbing as they interact with the audience at every stage.”
- Everything Theatre
"With that, we’re off, let loose to explore the various areas of the palace and their inhabitants. The first thing to strike me is the design of this production, every bit as grandiose as anticipated from its palatial title. As I make my way through each segment (five or six to choose from in whatever order you please), I am struck by the beauty and detail in each setting, all designed and lit well.”
- London Theatre 1
"The evening belongs to set and costume designer Maeve Black, who has truly outdone herself on this production. The Vaults tunnels have been used to their full potential and transformed into the impressive red palace; Baba Yaga’s attic would make the likes of Mystic Meg and Professor Trelawney jealous; while the mermaid’s bathroom makes you feel as though you’ve gone under the sea. Black’s imaginative design works well with Michelle Etherington’s lighting design to create an atmospheric production.”
- From Page to Stage
"The Vaults comprise a network of tunnels and performance spaces beneath Waterloo Station, and they’ve rarely been put to better use than in this immersive fantasy production. The dank, wet tunnels have been transformed into a medieval palace, a forest, boudoirs and cabaret spaces to powerful effect. Despite having visited the Vaults many times before, the space felt both new and exciting, with a real sense of mystery and discovery. All the sets have been designed with taste, exuberance and a tremendous attention to detail. You sit on comfortable chairs and sofas as you experience each story, drink in hand, and if you choose you can wander at will through the sets and stories. The script is witty and naturalistic, and performed with gusto by the uniformly strong cast. Celine Lowenthal’s direction is full of surprises, with the characters ad-libbing as they interact with the audience at every stage.”
- Everything Theatre
HAIR- The Vaults
a groovy tie-dye hangout with teepees and toadstools. Even better is the performance space under an arch, entirely covered with rainbow streamers: a kaleidoscopic reinvention of a dank fringe venue.
- The Independent
However, Maeve Black (designer) and Ben M Rogers (lighting) have really gone to town on transforming the venue into a late 1960s, bohemian, peacenik environment. It's a riot of garish colour, with teepees, scatter cushions, flags, stalls, flowers and incense everywhere one looks, and as the audience file in the cast are on the grass floor meditating in a circle. The concept is delightful and firmly roots the piece in its place and time.
- Whats on Stage
Colourful, immersive set. Excellent bright, lively and infectious performance.
The space had been transformed into a psychedelic 60s den with the entrance covered in pictures and posters from the era, multi coloured wall coverings, platforms and tents. It is worth getting there early enough to sip on a cocktail and ‘hang loose’ in your preferred space. The atmosphere is carried through to the performance area which is bedecked in multi-coloured hanging ribbons.
Maeve Black’s costumes and set decoration got that 60s vibe going, helped by the pervading aroma of incense and some great wigs
- Everything Theatre
NARVIK
Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder’s production for Box of Tricks has a chilled, hallucinatory quality, enhanced by a fluid design from Maeve Black that suggests the ice-floes and gunmetal skies of arctic warfare.
- The Guardian
a groovy tie-dye hangout with teepees and toadstools. Even better is the performance space under an arch, entirely covered with rainbow streamers: a kaleidoscopic reinvention of a dank fringe venue.
- The Independent
However, Maeve Black (designer) and Ben M Rogers (lighting) have really gone to town on transforming the venue into a late 1960s, bohemian, peacenik environment. It's a riot of garish colour, with teepees, scatter cushions, flags, stalls, flowers and incense everywhere one looks, and as the audience file in the cast are on the grass floor meditating in a circle. The concept is delightful and firmly roots the piece in its place and time.
- Whats on Stage
Colourful, immersive set. Excellent bright, lively and infectious performance.
The space had been transformed into a psychedelic 60s den with the entrance covered in pictures and posters from the era, multi coloured wall coverings, platforms and tents. It is worth getting there early enough to sip on a cocktail and ‘hang loose’ in your preferred space. The atmosphere is carried through to the performance area which is bedecked in multi-coloured hanging ribbons.
Maeve Black’s costumes and set decoration got that 60s vibe going, helped by the pervading aroma of incense and some great wigs
- Everything Theatre
NARVIK
Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder’s production for Box of Tricks has a chilled, hallucinatory quality, enhanced by a fluid design from Maeve Black that suggests the ice-floes and gunmetal skies of arctic warfare.
- The Guardian
From the fantastic sets, to the larger than life characters and outfits, to the emotions and the participation; it felt like nothing I had experienced in a theatre before.
NUTCRACKER REVIEW
- northwestend
- northwestend
PIPPIN
Stunningly designed by Maeve Black with a new false proscenium behind which the band sits, footlight bulbs enclose a rectangular tongue of a stage that the audience is seated around on three sides
- The Stage
The staging as ever at Hope Mill was a visual treat with countless props being utilised to create the many different scenes on the sparse stage. Full credit for this should go to Maeve Black who was also responsible for designing the simple yet striking costumes.
- Northwestend
here a splendidly imagined Victorian Vaudeville ensemble with a disturbingly dark soul and a penchant for preposterously revealing outfits
- Northernsoul
Maeve Black’s stunning Victorian Vaudeville setting paired with stunning lighting design from Aaron J. Dootson allows the players to truly tell this tale in the most theatrical and immersive of ways, making Pippin a remarkably bold and striking production.
- Manchesters Finest