We set ourselves the challenge of finding a great designer to create a two-in-one set for our youth productions. By reusing and re-purposing a set, it reduces the impact to the environment. The brief was to design a set to answer both the creative needs for each show and to fit onto two different
sized stages.
PJ McEvoy, Whatsonstage Award nominated set, costume and video content designer fit the bill to take on the challenge. PJ designed the stunning set for
the 2023 Mayflower Made UK tour of Sizwe Banzi is Dead. Rebecca McKillop chatted to PJ about his creative process and what it’s like to bring a new world
to life on stage.
What do you love most about Set Design for theatre?
It’s a very unique, almost sculptural form of design where you’re asked to present entire worlds as a singular or concentrated entity. Theatre sets don’t have to play by the same rules as real buildings and you can have a lot of fun with that.
You previously worked on our first ever touring Mayflower Made production, Sizwe Banzi is Dead. What was the design process like? Where did the initial inspiration come from?
Design inspiration will always come from a combination of things. The script is usually the main starting point followed by conversations with the director (John Pfumojena) which was particularly important on Sizwe given the subject matter and the history of that piece. Finally, all of that gets filtered through who you are as an artist and all the experiences you’ve had prior to that project.
PJ is now working on the 2024 Mayflower Youth Productions – Bugsy Malone and The Wind in the Willows – using one basic set design over the two venues. PJ creates mood boards for the look and feel of the eventual designs.
The story of Mayflower Summer Youth Production, Bugsy Malone will be familiar to a lot of people coming to see the show, how will you be putting your stamp on the production from a set design perspective?
I could be wrong but I’m not sure there will have ever been a production of Bugsy with quite this many performers involved. So the entire design process has been about making something that would work for this particular cast size and allowing as many of them to exist in the space as possible.
How does it feel seeing the finished set, when you have been a part of the development journey?
It often depends when the set is actually considered ‘finished’ as I’m sure a lot of designers will tell you that they’re often tweaking things right up to opening night and sometimes beyond that!
Here are the creative mood boards PJ used in the design process:
