Staging choices

Who's this? Tom Piper designed the costumes.

Context: Set in the English Renaissance, this production featured heavy brocade, velvet, armour, leather, and fur-decorated wide skirts, long robes, high ruffs, boned bodices and doublet and hose. Most major characters' costumes were made by the 26 staff in the RSC's Production Wardrobe, while minor characters' clothes were 'pulled' from past production storage in the RSC's Hire Wardrobe.

Think about: How long it might take to complete the making of a full production's costumes. The timescale for creating Hamlet's costumes, from taking measurements to completion, was about six weeks. Because the RSC works in repertory, however, the staff of the Production Wardrobe were also making costumes for several other productions at the same time.