theatre work carried out by john west
I loved the magic world of the theatre when I was small and wanted to work on the enchanting productions. I have designed and painted many productions, here are a few of the productions on which I have worked. There has been a trend to build theatre sets more like TV shows or to construct them out of & quote : Real Materials " there are now fewer artists who can still work in the traditional way" and I was aware that I was working with a few of the real old professionals when I was working in the scenery studio at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the heart of the West End. These days there are far fewer studios and scenery is often painted in more primitive conditions than those we had there.
For stage and set design, midlands based John West is ideally situated to be able to provide full local services that can be made flexible to encompass your theatre's production needs.
Below you will find a selection of productions that I have painted for the theatre. While I was painting productions for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane I realised that the traditional skills that I had learnt were being lost and I was fortunate to learn from those from the old school.
"The Amorous Prawn" set painting for the Theatre Royal, Norwich for national tour
© 2007 John West
"Bartholomew Fair" set design and painting for the Maddermarket Theatre
© 2007 John West
Stained glass window effects for Derby Playhouse
© 2007 John West
"The Late Edwina Black" rep production design and paint
© 2007 John West
"Fuente Ovejuna" Spanish set for the Maddermarket Theatre Norwich, design and paint
© 2007 John West
"A Night at the Indian Empire" set design and painting for Liverpool Playhouse
© 2007 John West
"Insignificance" set for Maddermarket Theatre Set design and paint
© 2007 John West
"The Lady's Not for Burning" set design and paint for the Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich
© 2007 John West
"The Marriage of Figaro" court room setting for the Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich
© 2007 John West
The Malvern Millenium Mystery Circle at Malvern Priory design and painting
© 2007 John West
CSS play Photo Gallery
Theatres that have had paintings supplied by myself include:
- Chichester Festival Theatre Arms and the Man
- Criterion Theatre, Piccadilly Circus Flint
- Derby Playhouse Seasons of repertory productions design and paint
- Liverpool Playhouse Seasons of repertory productions design and paint
- New Theatre, St. Matins Lane The Seven Year Itch I Never Sang for My Father
- The Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich Seasons of repertory productions design and paint
- The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon A Christmas Carol (E & B Productions)
- The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Great Waltz Jasper Carrot's Christmas Special (BBC TV)
- The Theatre Royal, Haymarket A Bequest to the Nation
- The Theatre Royal, Norwich Pantomimes, Summer Shows and Number One Tours
John west