{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1141056"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1141056/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1141056","accessionNumber":"S.3378-2009","objectType":"Set model","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"John Gunter (1938-2016) trained at Central School of Art and Design under Ralph Koltai before working at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch and the Bristol Old Vic.  In 1965 he became resident designer at the Royal Court where his style ranged from the stark minimalism of Edward Bond’s <i>Saved</i> to social realism in Peter Gill’s landmark revivals of D H Lawrence’s coal-mining plays.\r\n\r\nJohn Gunter's international career began in 1970 with a residency at Zurich’s Schauspielhaus.  He returned to head up the Theatre Design Department at Central School in the 1970s, meanwhile making his mark at the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Nottingham Playhouse.  His collaboration with director Richard Eyre at Nottingham led to a remarkable run of hits at the Royal National Theatre in the 1980s, starting with setting and costumes for <i>The Beggar’s Opera</i> in the Cottesloe and the sensational neon-lit <i>Guys and Dolls</i> in the Olivier.  Gunter mastered the latter theatre for <i>The Rivals</i> directed by Peter Wood, with ingenious moveable houses mounted on trucks, and panoramic vistas of Bath.  In Gogol’s <i>The Government Inspector</i>, audiences adored the surreal setting: its sea of bureaucratic paperwork and huge portrait of the Tsar stole the show every night.\r\n\r\nOther major directors John Gunter worked with included Peter Hall and Trevor Nunn, most notably the latter’s <i>Porgy and Bess</i> at Glyndebourne in 1986, and <i>Hamlet</i> at the Old Vic in 2004 with Ben Whishaw in the title role. He won Best Designer award from SWET for <i>Guys and Dolls</i>(1982), and an Olivier for Best Designer with <i>Wild Honey</i> (1984).\r\n\r\nOn moving house in 2008 he kindly donated to the Museum six set models including this one - all of which he made himself.  To mark the occasion he was interviewed by Geoffrey Marsh, Director of the V&A Theatre & Performance Department, in his studio before it was dismantled by the removers.  A copy of the interview is viewable in the Theatre & Performance Department's archive.","physicalDescription":"Set model showing a crescent in Bath comprising four-storey town houses surrounding an oval cobbled space with a tree and pair of bollards on either side.  At the centre is an obelisk with a smaller one behind.  There are seven townhouses which can be reversed to reveal various interiors.  In the background can be seen a cut-out scene of a busy street with an expansive view of the city and surrounding hills beyond. The whole setting is within a black framework suggestive of a proscenium, which has a lower level below the front of the stage and a mezzanine on each side.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Gunter, John","id":"A10269"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"x36960"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"paper (fiber product)","id":"AAT14109"},{"text":"card","id":"x30344"},{"text":"paint","id":"AAT15029"},{"text":"wood","id":"AAT11914"},{"text":"glue","id":"AAT14815"},{"text":"foam","id":"AAT14639"},{"text":"clay","id":"AAT10439"}],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"Card, paper, paint, wood, glue, plastic, foam and modelling clay","categories":[{"text":"Entertainment & Leisure","id":"THES48959"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&P","id":"THES48602"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES340944"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"set model","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1983","earliest":"1983-01-01","latest":"1983-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by John Gunter","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"32","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"68","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"42","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Set model by John Gunter for <i>The Rivals</i> by R B Sheridan, Royal National Theatre, Olivier, 1983.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"John Goodwin, British Theatre Design: The Modern Age. Caption and picture, p.70"}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["S.3378-2009"],"accessionNumberNum":"3378","accessionNumberPrefix":"S","accessionYear":2009,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-08","recordCreationDate":"2009-11-26","availableToBook":true}}