Motley was the name of the theatre design firm made up of three English designers, sisters Margaret Harris (known as "Percy")(1904–2000) and Sophie Harris (1900–1966), and Elizabeth Montgomery Wilmot (1902–1993). The group won two Tony Awards for costume design and was nominated seven additional times.
They met at art school in the 1920s and went on to great success as John Gielgud's designers during the 1930s. They started teaching theatre design at Michel Saint-Denis's London Theatre Studio (1936–1939), the first time a design course had been incorporated into a drama school in the UK. Margaret Harris and Elizabeth Montgomery spent World War II in the United States, designing for Broadway, and Harris also worked with Charles Eames on his moulded plywood airplane parts. Sophie Harris, now married to George Devine, and mother of their child Harriet, stayed in the UK designing for stage and screen. After the war Margaret Harris returned to the UK, and both sisters once again joined Saint-Denis, teaching design at the Old Vic Theatre School (1947–1953). Elizabeth Montgomery stayed in the United States designing for many Broadway productions. All three continued to design under the name "Motley" for both stage and screen.
In 1966, Margaret Harris founded a theatre design course which continues to this day, now under the directorship of designer Alison Chitty (OBE).[1]
Work (Broadway selected)
- Look Homeward, Angel (1957) Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominee)
- The Country Wife (1957) scenery and costume design; Tony Award Best Costume Design (nominee)
- Look Back in Anger (1957) Tony Award Best Costume Design (nominee)
- Shinbone Alley (1957) Tony Award Best Costume Design (nominee)
- The First Gentleman (1957) Tony Award Best Costume Design (winner)
- Beckett (1961) Tony Award Best Costume Design (Dramatic) (winner)
- Kwamina (1961) Tony Award Best Costume Design (nominee)
- Mother Courage and Her Children (1963) Tony Award Best Costume Design (nominee)
- Baker Street (1965) Tony Award Best Costume Design (nominee)
References
- ^ Motley Theatre Design Coursemotleytheatredesign.co.uk, accessed July 10, 2009
- "Motley: The History". Motley Theatre Design. 28 February 2006. http://www.motleytheatredesign.co.uk/history/index.html. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- University Library (2008). "Motley Collection of Theatre & Costume Design". University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/motley/. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
External links
- Motley Theatre Design Group at the Internet Broadway Database
- Margaret Harris at the Internet Broadway Database
- Sophia Harris at the Internet Broadway Database
- Elizabeth Montgomery at the Internet Broadway Database
- Motley in Theatre Archive, University of Bristol
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