Design by Motley

Beginning with designs for John Gielgud's production of Romeo and Juliet in 1932, Elizabeth Montgomery, Margaret Harris, and Sophia Harris designed more than three hundred productions under the name "Motley" (after Jaques' quip "Motley's the only wear"). Over the course of nearly four decades, they designed sets and costumes across the dramatic spectrum - straight plays, Shakespeare and other classics, ballet, opera, musicals, and films in both England and the United States. Design by Motley traces Motley's artistic accomplishments from the beginnings to the present. It draws upon original research in theatre archives and interviews with theatre artists. The volume is lavishly illustrated with original set and costume designs from the Motley Collection at the University of Illinois. Among Motley's accomplishments were designs for Gielgud's prodigious output during the 1930s in London, notably his Richard of Bordeaux, The Three Sisters, and The Importance of Being Earnest. On Broadway, their hits included South Pacific, A Man for All Seasons, and Anne of a Thousand Days. During the 1950s their designs graced Shakespeare productions at both Stratford-upon-Avon and Stratford, Connecticut. Motley operas included Il Trovatore at the New York Metropolitan Opera and War and Peace at the English National Opera, where they were resident designers during the 1960s and 1970s. At the London Theatre Studio before World War II, at the Old Vic School in the early 1950s, and at the Motley Theatre Design Course in London since 1966, they have trained hundreds of young designers from all over the world. The "New Stagecraft," which Motley helped to shape, replaced the painted, three-dimensional sets and realistic costumes of the nineteenth-century stage with fluid, representational scenery and evocative costumes. Together, the elements of the design formed a unified interpretation of the play. Motley's accomplishments were especially significant because they spanned both New York and London and set a standard for beauty and excellence in theatre design that lives on today in the work of their many students.