The Visit Costume Designer 2025 AUB Production

After having pitched, I was selected as Costume Designer for Arts University Bournemouth's Production of The Visit, a play originally written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt.
I worked with my Assistant Costume Designer, Adelaide Ragan, in collaboration with costume supervisors, actors, and Director David O'Shea, to bring my The Visit costume designs to life. The costumes have been sourced, altered, fitted and embellished in accordance with my designs. The main character, Claire Zachanassian's faux prosthetics were also designed and made by Adelaide Ragan, consistent with my vision.

Costume contributes to a performance in a significant way, as it immediately informs the audience about a character - who they are as a person, what they are inspired by, comforted or tortured by, and even how they relate to the other characters within the piece.

My Costume Designs for The Visit were largely inspired by German Expressionism, Surrealism and Bauhaus, in harmony with Set Designer Eve Stewart's atmospheric set. We explored silhouette, the power of shape and line, giving characters like 'The Inspector' the classic René Magritte type silhouette through his bowler hat. Another example is The Priest's silhouette, inspired by that of the priest in The Colour of Pomegranates (1969).

Colour palette was key, as the costumes are largely monochromatic, with highlights of murky blues, implying something is a little off. This also looks like the colour has been drained out of them, it is a sad and dreary blend. This helps create the dream-like state that the Director had described during the initial briefing. The colour palettes for the Guelleners and Zachanassian's entourage help identify the two groups. The Guelleners acquire yellow in their palette once they start to convert to thinking the Zachanassian way, but it is a sickly yellow, representing their corruption. On the other hand, Zachanassian and her entourage indulge in gold, displaying the depth of their wealth.

To get the not-quite-right feel, I explored designers such as Tomoko Nakamichi, and Rei Kawakubo (who uses flat assemblage techniques challenging notions of traditional 'western' construction). Martin Margeila (who breaks apart garments to expose their inner workings, and Yohji Yamamoto who also explores this 'Deconstruction Style'. This comes through features like the buttons, placement, folds, dyed gradients, involving metallic pieces.

The metallic pieces and jewellery help add a sense of entrapment. The Guelleners wear silver, and their pieces often look chain-like. Zachanassian's entourage also plays into this theme of entrapment, the Husband for example using the dead bolt lock to close the jacket, and Boby the Butler with a gold door hinge on the back of their jacket.

In terms of period and setting,. the storyworld can not be placed exactly. It is a place with influences from both the past and future, looking almost dystopian at times.

Working on The Visit was a joy to design for, a very enriching and valuable experience.