Gladys Edith Mabel Calthrop (''née'' Treeby; 29 March 1894 – 7 March 1980) was an artist and leading British stage designer. She is best known as the set and costume designer for many of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's plays and musicals.

Life and career

Calthrop was born in

Ashton, Devon Ashton is a civil parish in the Teignbridge district of Devon, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 174, and it had a population of 203 according to the 2011 census. The parish consists of two villages, Higher Ashton ...

, the daughter of Frederick Theophilus Treeby and his wife Mabel. She was educated at Grassendale School, Southbourne, West Sussex. Her parents sent her to a

finishing school A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wi ...

in Paris, and she returned married to Army captain Everard E. Calthrop, from

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

. The couple had a son, Hugo, whose care Calthrop entrusted mostly to her mother. He was later killed in Burma Campaign. She was soon separated from her husband (she had lesbian relationships thereafter) and studied art at

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised a ...

. Calthrop was introduced to

by Mrs. Astley Cooper while on holiday in Italy in 1921.Hoare, Philip. ''Noël Coward, A Biography''. Sinclair-Stevenson, 1995. , pp. 85–86"Mrs Gladys Calthrop – Artist and stage designer", ''The Times'', 11 March 1980, p. 14 She soon became a close friend of Coward's, and she commenced her theatre career in November 1924 with her design for his '' The Vortex'', staged at the Everyman Theatre in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

. As she later recalled: "It was the first play I had ever designed so I was terribly excited, though there was nowhere to paint the sets except outside the theatre in Hampstead High Street, and the costumes all had to be made in a kind of basement there." She stayed in New York after travelling there for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of ''The Vortex'', becoming Artistic Director for Eva la Galliene's

Civic Repertory Theatre The Fourteenth Street Theatre was a New York City theatre located at 107 West 14th Street just west of Sixth Avenue.Berg, J.C. (9 January 2011)The Fourteenth Street Theater, ''nycvintageimages.com'' History It was designed by Alexander Saelt ...

,Port, Raymond
"Gladys Calthrop"
Biographies, Matt & Andrej Koymasky website, accessed 29 May 2011 for whom she directed ''

John Gabriel Borkman ''John Gabriel Borkman'' is a 1896 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was his penultimate work. Plot The Borkman family fortunes have been brought low by the imprisonment of John Gabriel who used his position as a bank manager to ...

'' on Broadway in 1926. Her designs for Broadway included ''The Cradle Song'' (1927), '' This Year of Grace'' (1928), ''

Bitter Sweet Bittersweet, bitter-sweet, or bitter sweet may refer to: Biology * A vine in the nightshade family, ''Solanum dulcamara'' * Some species of vines in the genus ''Celastrus'', including American bittersweet (''C. scandens'') and Oriental bitters ...

'' (1929), '' Autumn Crocus'' (1932), '' Private Lives'' (1931), ''

Design for Living ''Design for Living'' is a comedy play written by Noël Coward in 1932. It concerns a trio of artistic characters, Gilda, Otto and Leo, and their complicated three-way relationship. Originally written to star Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt and Cowa ...

'' (1933), '' Conversation Piece'' (1934), '' Point Valaine'' (1935), ''

Tonight at 8.30 ''Tonight at 8.30'' is a cycle of ten one-act plays by Noël Coward, presented in London in 1936 and in New York in 1936–1937, with the author and Gertrude Lawrence in the leading roles. The plays are mostly comedies, but three, '' The Astoni ...

'' (1936), ''Excursion'' (1937), ''

Dear Octopus ''Dear Octopus'' is a comedy by the playwright and novelist Dodie Smith. It opened at the Queen's Theatre, London on 14 September 1938. On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 the run was halted after 373 performances; after a ...

'' (1939) and ''

Set to Music Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

'' (1939). Calthrop continued to work as a designer in Britain until 1964. She also designed some films, including four Coward adaptations, in the 1940s. In 1940 she published her first and only novel, ''Paper Pattern''. During World War II, she served in the Mechanical Transport Corps. She also illustrated the ''Noël Coward Song Book'' (1953). She died at the age of 85.

Stage works

The dates given are for the West End productions unless otherwise specified: *''The Vortex'' (Everyman, Hampstead);

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale '' Dic ...

(1924) *''Spring Cleaning''; '' On With the Dance''; '' Easy Virtue''; ''

Hay Fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Signs and symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, red, i ...

'' (1925) *''

The Queen Was in the Parlour ''The Queen Was in the Parlour: a romance in three acts'' is a play by the English writer Noël Coward. Although written in 1922 it was not produced until 24 August 1926, when it was premiered at the St Martin's Theatre. The play is Coward's only ...

'' (1926) *''Home Chat''; '' Sirocco''; ''The Cradle Song'' (Broadway) (1927) *'' This Year of Grace'' (revue); ''Come With Me'' (1928) *''The Cradle Song''; ''

The Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' ( no, Bygmester Solness) is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published ...

''; ''

'' (Broadway); ''The Black Ace'' (1929) *'' Private Lives''; '' Autumn Crocus''; ''

'', '' Cavalcade'' (1931) *'' Words and Music'' (1932) *'' Three Sisters''; ''

'' (Broadway) (1933) *'' Conversation Piece'' (1934) *'' Point Valaine'' (Broadway) (1935) *''Mademoiselle''; ''

'' (Broadway) (1936) *''Excursion'' (Broadway); ''You Can't Take it With You'' (1937) *'' Operette''; ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' (1938) *''All Clear''; ''

'' (Broadway); ''

'' (Broadway) (1939) *''Cousin Muriel'' (1940) *''No Time for Comedy''; ''

Blithe Spirit Blithe Spirit may refer to: * ''Blithe Spirit'' (play), a 1941 comic play written by Noël Coward * ''Blithe Spirit'' (1945 film), a British comedy film based on the play * ''Blithe Spirit'' (2020 film), a British-American comedy film based on th ...

'' (1941) *''

Present Laughter ''Present Laughter'' is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1939 but not produced until 1942 because the Second World War began while it was in rehearsal, and the British theatres closed. The title is drawn from a song in Shakespeare's ''T ...

''; '' This Happy Breed'' (1943) *''The Gay Pavilion'' (1945) *''

Pacific 1860 ''Pacific 1860'' is a musical written by Noël Coward. The story is set in a fictional Pacific British Colony during the reign of Queen Victoria. It involves a romantic and sentimental story about a visiting Prima Donna and her conflict between ...

'' (1946) *''Present Laughter''; '' Peace In Our Time'' (1947) *'' Ace of Clubs'' (1950) *''The Vortex'' (1952) *''The Edwardians'' (1959) *''The Bröntes'' (recital, 1964)''The Bröntes'' is by Margaret Webster.

Filmography

*''

In Which We Serve ''In Which We Serve'' is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by Noël Coward and David Lean. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom), Ministry of Information. The scree ...

'' (1942) *'' This Happy Breed'' (1944) *''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life''. Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey, ...

''; ''

'' (1945) *''

The Fighting O'Flynn ''The Fighting O'Flynn'' is a 1949 American adventure film directed by Arthur Pierson. The film's screenplay by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is based on the novel of the same name by Justin Huntly McCarthy. Fairbanks stars, along with Helena Carter. P ...

'' (1949) *'' The Astonished Heart'' (1950)

References

External links

* *
"Gladys Calthrop"
Images at the National Portrait Gallery
Image of Calthrop and Coward, 1924Painting by Calthrop
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calthrop, Gladys 1894 births 1980 deaths Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art English scenic designers Women scenic designers Theatre in the United Kingdom People from Ashton, Devon

Life and career

Archives

Stage works

Filmography

References

External links