Creatives Commentary: Designer Matthew Wright on Legally Blonde

Matthew Wright, Designer of our Made at Curve production of Legally Blonde, talks about the process of staging the show at Curve and at the Opéra de Monte Carlo in Monaco.

The first photograph captures the moment, during technical rehearsals, when the ceiling piece started to fly and we could see for the first time the brilliant lighting created by Ben Cracknell. The set was on a grand scale, stretching into the auditorium and using the full depth of Curve’s stage. The supersaturated colours used to create the world of Legally Blonde and carefully planned from the initial design stages, were thrillingly in front of us.

After we opened, the production was picked up by a theatre producer who wanted to take the show to the Opéra de Monte Carlo, where they run an annual music festival. The Opera House is part of the famous Casino and is an amazing baroque confection, however the stage is about a quarter of the size of Curve’s. The festival has a very varied programme, one night it could be a famous rock star and the next a string quartet. As part of the design brief we had to create a new set which fitted up in a day rather than the week we would normally have at Curve. The image shows the Stage Management team standing in for actors during a focusing session for lighting. I love the contrast of the plastic warning tape, the flickering technology and the hot pink set against the grand surroundings. I’m not sure which was more camp.

See the full images below.