Motley Theatre Design Course was an independent postgraduate theatre design course based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

History of the school

Sadler's Wells Opera and English National Opera

In 1962,

Sadler's Wells Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

announced the appointment of their first permanent creative team of Glen Byam Shaw as Director of Productions, John Blatchley as his assistant and Margaret 'Percy' Harris MBE (of the

Motley Theatre Design Group Motley was the name of the theatre design firm made up of three English designers: sisters Margaret (known as "Percy," 1904–2000) and Sophie Harris (1900–1966) and Elizabeth Montgomery (1902–1993). Career The name ''Motley'', according to ...

) as Head of Design, stressing that "apart from their eminence in the world of theatre, they have been connected with teaching, both on the dramatic side and design." This referred to their involvement in the Old Vic Theatre School (1947–1952), founded by

Michel Saint-Denis Michel Jacques Saint-Denis (13 September 1897 – 31 July 1971), ''dit'' Jacques Duchesne, was a French actor, theatre director, and drama theorist whose ideas on actor training have had a profound influence on the development of European th ...

George Devine George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

and Glen Byam Shaw. Percy Harris had previously taught at Michel Saint-Denis' experimental London Theatre Studio (1936–1939). Percy had taught Jocelyn Herbert RDI at the London Theatre Studio, and Jocelyn herself was to teach Percy's students from 1966 onwards. As Motley biographer Michael Mullin noted, Percy's aims for the school "hearkened back to the London Theatre Studio ideal of a ‘company’ who work in happy collaboration, rather than a group of individuals in creative competition with each other". In 1966 a room was found for Percy to teach in, in nearby St John Street, and the Sadler's Wells Theatre Design Course began with 8 students. Students were to come from various parts of the world and disciplines so they could learn from each other. They were taught the techniques of their craft by staff at Sadlers Wells Opera and others. Projects were to be mainly led by directors. In an interview with Michael Billington in 1991, Percy Harris explained her philosophy of teaching: “It's all based on the work of Michel Saint-Denis…(who) believed that the most important person in the theatre was the dramatist, then the actors, and then the director and designer. He argued that the designer's job was to show the play and the actors to the best possible advantage. Also that they should not decorate: they should design. I suppose that is why our designers are very popular with dramatists.

Edward Bond Thomas Edward Bond (18 July 1934 – 3 March 2024) was an English playwright, theatre director, poet, dramatic theorist and screenwriter. He was the author of some 50 plays, among them '' Saved'' (1965), the production of which was instrument ...

said that he couldn't have written for the theatre if it hadn't been for the Course, especially Hayden Griffin.” Hayden Griffin is the co-director of the school. In 1969, Sadlers Wells Opera moved to their present home at the London Coliseum and became

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

. For a time the school moved into the vacated space at the top of the

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

. In 1971, the school moved to Camperdown House,

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...

to be near the company, and at this point became the English National Opera Theatre Design Course. Teachers at this time included

Bill Bryden William Campbell Rough Bryden (12 April 1942 – 5 January 2022) was a Scottish stage and film director and screenwriter. Early life and career He worked as a trainee with Scottish Television before becoming assistant director at the Belgrad ...

and

Maria Björnson Maria Elena Björnson (16 February 1949 – 13 December 2002) was a theatre designer. She was born in Paris to a Norwegian father and Romanian mother, and was the great-granddaughter of the Norwegian playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, who won ...

and students were also taught by the creative team at English National Opera who worked in the same building.

Riverside Studios and the Almeida Theatre

In 1979, organisational changes at English National Opera necessitated the school moving to the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the north bank of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having opened in May 1976, th ...

, then under the lively directorship of

David Gothard David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

. It became the Theatre Design Course at the Riverside. The aims and training of the school were in harmony with the Riverside ethos and the school developed further ideas and flexibility. Students had access, either through formal teaching or observation, to

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...

Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...

, Bill Gaskill,

David Leveaux David Leveaux (born 13 December 1957)this source shows 195filmreference.com. Retrieved 9 May 2009 is an English film and theatre director. He has been nominated for five Tony Awards as director of both plays and musicals. He directs in the UK, ...

Anselm Kiefer Anselm Kiefer (born 8 March 1945) is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Peter Dreher and Horst Antes at the end of the 1960s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac. The poems of Paul Celan h ...

, Sir Jonathan Miller, Sir David Hare,

Tadeusz Kantor Tadeusz Kantor (6 April 1915 – 8 December 1990) was a Polish painter, assemblage and Happenings artist, set designer and theatre director. Kantor is renowned for his revolutionary theatrical performances in Poland and abroad. Laureate of ...

Elijah Moshinsky Elijah Moshinsky (8 January 1946 – 14 January 2021) was an Australian opera director, theatre director and television director who worked for the Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal National Theatre, and BBC Television, among o ...

, Sir Peter Hall,

Michael Bogdanov Michael Bogdanov (15 December 1938 – 16 April 2017) was a British theatre director known for his work with new plays, modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare, musicals and work for young people. Early years Bogdanov was born Michael Bogd ...

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

and Percy's collaborator Elisabeth Montgomery. Students collaborated with young directors at the Drama Centre. This arrangement lasted until 1987, when management changes at Riverside led to Artistic Director

Pierre Audi Pierre Audi (9 November 1957 – 3 May 2025) was an English-Lebanese theatre director and artistic director. Early life Audi was born on 9 November 1957, the eldest of three children born to Lebanese banker Raymond Audi and Andrée Michel Fatt ...

welcoming the school at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...

which was also far-reaching in its ethos and exposed the young designers to Pierre's experimental programming of drama, contemporary music and opera. Teachers and visitors included

Simon McBurney Simon Montagu McBurney (born 25 August 1957) is an English actor, playwright, and theatre and opera director. He is the founder and artistic director of the Complicité, Théâtre de Complicité, London. He has had roles in the films ''The Manch ...

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...

and

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFT ...

Royal National Theatre and Covent Garden

By 1991, Pierre Audi had become Artistic Director of

De Nederlandse Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

, and the school once again found itself without a home. It temporarily resided at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

Paint Frame, and then, in 1992, in a warehouse in Shelton Street, Covent Garden. Finding itself for the first time independent of a producing theatre, the school renamed itself the Motley Theatre Design Course, after the

, the collective Percy Harris had formed with

Sophie Harris Audrey Sophia "Sophie" Harris (2 July 1900 – 10 March 1966) was an English award winning theatre and opera costume and scenic designer. Biography Born in Hayes, Kent, the third child and first daughter of William Birkbeck Harris, a Lloy ...

and Elizabeth Montgomery.

Alison Chitty Alison Chitty (born 16 October 1948) is an Olivier Award winning production designer and set and costume designer, known for her collaborations with Mike Leigh, Francesca Zambello, Peter Gill and Sir Peter Hall. She is also the Director of the ...

RDI OBE joined Percy as co-director. As Jocelyn Herbert noted, "the school went through numerous financial crises, and many changes of venue; the fact that it survived was due to the loyalty, generosity and hard work of a small group of supporters inspired by Percy's dogged determination to keep it going."

Theatre Royal Drury Lane

In 1994 the school moved to the scene dock in the

Theatre Royal Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

where it still remains. The end of year exhibitions were held first at the

Theatre Museum The Theatre Museum in the Covent Garden district of London, England, was the United Kingdom's national museum of the performing arts. It was a branch of the UK's national museum of applied arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum. It opened in 197 ...

in Covent Garden and subsequently at the Royal National Theatre Paint Frame. Former students Anthony Lamble and Ashley Martin-Davis joined the school as Associate Directors. During this period, the school also taught visiting students from the

British American Drama Academy The British American Drama Academy is a drama school in London. It is affiliated with Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers which is adjacent to The Bronx, New York and Yale University. Background The British American Drama Academy (BADA) was founde ...

. Teachers at this time included Jane Howell, William Gaskill, Jocelyn Herbert, Sean Holmes and Simon Usher. In early 2000, Percy Harris, who was still teaching at the age of 95, fell ill and died a few months later. The school continued to adhere to Percy's teaching philosophy. With an intake now of 11 students, the school initiated an annual project with students on the MFA Theatre Directing Course at

Birkbeck, University of London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a Public university, public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London. Establ ...

. Teachers during this period included Lindsay Posner,

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English screenwriter, producer, director and former actor with a film, theatre, and television career spanning more than 60 years. His accolades include prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin In ...

, James Macdonald, Steve Tompkins, David Eldridge,

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is a British-Irish playwright, musician and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is ...

, Martin Duncan,

Philip Langridge Philip Gordon Langridge (16 December 1939 – 5 March 2010)Millington (7 March 2010) was an English tenor, considered to be among the foremost exponents of English opera and oratorio. Early life Langridge was born in Hawkhurst, Kent, educ ...

Michael Attenborough Michael John Attenborough (born 13 February 1950) is an English theatre director. Background Attenborough was born on 13 February 1950 in London, the only son of actress Sheila Sim and actor-director Richard Attenborough. He is the nephew of ...

Steven Pimlott Steven Charles Pimlott (18 April 1953 – 14 February 2007) was an English opera and theatre director, whose obituary in ''The Times'' hailed him as "one of the most versatile and inventive theatre directors of his generation". His output ran t ...

Katie Mitchell Katrina Jane Mitchell (born 23 September 1964) is an English theatre director. Life and career Mitchell was born in Reading, Berkshire, raised in Hermitage, Berkshire, and educated at Oakham School. Upon leaving Oakham, she went up to Mag ...

. In 2007 Alison Chitty RDI OBE was awarded the Misha Black Award for Innovation in Design Education. According to Professor Frank Height, "

Misha Black Misha Black (16 October 1910 – 11 October 1977) was a British-Azerbaijani architect and designer. In 1933 he founded with associates in London the organisation that became the Artists' International Association. In 1943, with Milner Gray and ...

had a powerful belief in the creative interaction of all design disciplines and removed previously perceived barriers in design education. In my opinion, Alison Chitty has taken this belief into her chosen field of design and used it to achieve international recognition for the excellence of the application of the creative process in both traditional and new fields of entertainment and is an exemplar of advanced design education which is being fostered in so many UK institutions". In December 2010, Alison Chitty and Ashley Martin-Davis announced that they would be leaving at the end of the academic year. The Chairman, John Simpson, announced that the school was facing difficulties in the current political and economic climate and might have to close. In January 2011, the Alumni and Friends of Motley Theatre Design Course formed to support the school through the next testing period in its long history. After a robust campaign, and facing significant pressure, the chairman John Simpson gave a public speech at the opening of the annual student exhibition at the National Theatre, reversing his decision and announcing that he would find a way for the course to continue, saying that he could not "look Percy in the eye if he met her at the pearly gates". To date, Motley Theatre Design Course is still trading, but not running any courses or enabling alumni access to the library assembled by Percy Harris over the course of her teaching career.

Notable alumni

* Jon Bausor *

Alexandra Byrne Alexandra Byrne (born 1962) is a British costume designer and set designer. Much of her career has focused on creating costumes for period dramas. These films include ''Persuasion (1995 film), Persuasion'' (1995), ''Hamlet (1996 film), Hamlet'' ( ...

* Isabella Bywater * Kim Carpenter * Phoebe de Gaye *

Es Devlin Esmeralda Devlin (; born 24 September 1971) is an English artist and stage designer who works in a range of media, often mapping light and projected film onto kinetic sculptural forms. She has received several accolades including a Tony Award ...

* Maria Djurkovic * Mini Grey *

Margo Harkin Margo Harkin (born October 1951 in Derry) is an Irish filmmaker. Best known for the drama '' Hush-a-Bye Baby'' and the documentary ''Bloody Sunday: A Derry Diary'', Harkin produced the surfing documentary ''Waveriders'' in 2008. Biography Mar ...

* Jeremy Herbert * Gemma Jackson * Shawn Kerwin *

Antony McDonald Antony McDonald is a British opera and theatre designer and director. In 2013, McDonald won the Set Design Award at the International Opera Awards. He won the Golden Mask for best costume design in a musical production (Russia) for '' L'Enfant et ...

* Jean-Marc Puissant * Anthony Lamble * Ashley Martin-Davis

Notable faculty

* Stephen Arlen * Margaret Harris *

* Jane Howell * William Gaskill * Jocelyn Herbert * Sean Holmes * Simon Usher * Lindsay Posner *

* Steve Tompkins * David Eldridge *

* Martin Duncan *

References

External links

Motley Theatre Design Course Website

Motley Alumni: The Home of Alumni & Friends of Motley Theatre Design Course
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motley Theatre Design Course Defunct art schools