Ulysses
Set & Costume Design.
Tron Theatre / Adapted by Dermot Bolger from the novel by James Joyce / Directed by Andy Arnold / Lighting Design by Sergey Jakovsky / Photography by John Johnson
(Glasgow Premiere / Ireland Tour 2012 / Edinburgh Festival 2013 / China Tour 2015)
Nominated for 'Best Design', Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland, 2012 / 'Best Production of 2012' by The List Magazine.
‘...outstanding set and costume design by Charlotte Lane (as brilliant in its theatrical utility as in its perfect, vertiginous period aesthetic)...’ Herald Scotland
‘This is a production where you will come out whistling the set, a fantastic wooden playground of wardrobes and doorways designed by Charlotte Lane.’ The Public Reviews
'But it is Charlotte Lane's remarkable set that makes the entire action possible. Set on a round wooden stage, it is made up of cupboards, boxes, drawers and doors, which double as hiding places, lavatories and even portals to the past. Such inventiveness is a tribute to Joyce's own curious imagination.' Culture Northern Ireland
'The set was gorgeously realised, functioning variously (and believably) as a bedroom, a newspaper office, the seaside, a pub, a hotel, a cemetery and a conduit to the past.’ W[r]ite Noise Ni
'Rich, strange, uneven, complex, imperfect, foul, beautiful and absolutely charged with the glorious and terrible pulse of life: this is Andy Arnold’s new stage version of James Joyce’s Ulysses… At the centre of it all, though, there’s Muirean Kelly’s dazzling Molly Bloom, sprawled on her big brass bed at the heart of Charlotte Lane’s beautiful set... This is a piece of theatre to remember, as rich and glorious as an old scratched ruby, lying at the bottom of some infinitely cluttered drawer.’ The Scotsman
‘The stunning set presents Ulysses’ Dublin as a landscape of the emotions...’ Edinburgh Festival Guide
‘The set was an Edwardian Victorian delight bursting at the seams with books, bric a brac and paraphernalia of all sorts. It reflected the denseness of the text and the ideas and objects referenced in Ulysses itself. It was not only multi-purpose in its useage but gave a solid setting for all the action to work against. Cliche as it may sound, the set was another character of the play, helped in no small part by the great lighting of Sergey Jakovsky.’ Liberate Ulysses / Bloomsday Survival Kit
‘The set, costume and lighting design add an almost magical feel to the production; with a set full of clocks, bookcases and wardrobes that are used as doors by characters and atmospheric lighting that changes from dark to light tones with as much fluidity as Joyce’s prose. The production as a whole has a magical feel to it. Ambitious, intelligent and utterly thrilling, it is sure to be one of the theatrical highlights of the Festival.’ FreshFringe
‘Charlotte Lane's set design takes the form of a curious room filled with clocks and picture frames and wardrobes through which characters appear and disappear, infusing the production with a magical, dream-like quality’ The List
'Charlotte Lane’s set is built upon a raised, circular dais, using a semi-circular configuration of Victorian furnishings (bookshelves, cabinets, tables) at the rear to suggest the switching locations (bedroom, office, bar, street-corner, water closet) of the narrative. It looks wall-like, but gradually you become aware of little gaps and interstices where characters (or their faces) appear suddenly to make brief comments or interjections. That’s typical of the production’s visual resourcefulness’ Irish Theatre Magazine
'The circular set design provides endless possibilities for a play that must transport us all around Dublin. It concentrates the action beautifully and provides a cauldron for the play as it moves at a fast pace through Blooms day.' Italish