{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1625427"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1625427/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2023NH9979/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2023NH9979/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2023NH9979","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1625427","accessionNumber":"S.683-2021","objectType":"Costume design","titles":[{"title":"The Snow Queen","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"Design by Lez Brotherston for the ballerina in the travelling circus in <i>The Snow Queen</i>, choreographed by Christopher Hampson for Scottish Ballet, 2019.\n\nLez Brotherston OBE (born 1961) is an influential and innovative British set and costume designer, who trained at the Central School of Art and Design. Brotherston started his career designing for the film <i>Letter to Brezhnev</i> (1985) and has worked extensively across dance, theatre, opera, musical theatre and film. He is best known for his collaborations with choreographer Matthew Bourne and Bourne’s dance companies Adventures in Motion Pictures and New Adventures, where he is an Associate Artist. Their ground-breaking <i>Swan Lake</i> (1995) with male swans has received over 30 international awards to date, including a Tony Award for Best Costume Design. In 1998, Brotherston received the Olivier Award’s Outstanding Achievement in Dance for Matthew Bourne’s <i>Cinderella</i>, which was set during the Blitz. In 2005, Brotherston designed, co-wrote and co-directed <i>Les Liaisons Dangereuses</i> with Adam Cooper and has designed sets and costume for many national companies including the National Theatre, Scottish Ballet, English National Opera and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Brotherston received the Ninette de Valois Award for Outstanding Contribution to Dance in 2018 and has worked extensively throughout the UK with companies Kneehigh, Shakespeare’s Globe, Sheffield Crucible, Almeida Theatre, Northern Ballet, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Old Vic, Glyndebourne and Chichester Festival Theatre. He has also designed numerous productions for the West End including <i>Long Day’s Journey into Night</i>, <i>The Rise and Fall of Little Voice</i>, <i>Sister Act</i> and <i>Oh What a Lovely War</i>. In 2022 Brotherston was awarded an OBE for services to Dance and Theatre. \n\n<i>The Snow Queen</i>, based on the tale by Hans Christian Andersen, was choreographed to music by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, arranged by Richard Honner. It received its premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on 7 December 2019 and was televised during the Christmas period. The production benefited from the popularity of Disney's film, <i>Frozen</i>, based on the same source. Lez Brotherston's set and costumes were described in <i>The Times</i> (17/12/19) as ‘handsome and fantastical’.\n\nThe travelling circus arrives in Act 1 and entertains the crowd in the marketplace scene. The ballerina is partnered by the tattooed strongman. Both also feature in the award-winning sixty-minute film, <i>Secret Theatre</i>, directed by Jessica Wright and Morgan Runacre-Temple and promoted by Marquee TV. The film was created in 2020 during the Covid 19 pandemic to help keep the wonder of theatre alive. The narrative shows a boy wandering into a deserted theatre where, to his surprise. ‘the show goes on’. Guided by Lexi, the Summer Princess of <i>The Snow Queen</i>, he meets characters from that ballet and from <i>The Nutcracker</i>, also designed by Brotherston, including acrobats, clowns, snowflakes, and ballerinas and their escorts.\n","physicalDescription":"Costume design by Lez Brotherston for the ballerina in <i>The Snow Queen</i>. Full length female figure, looking to viewer's left. She wears a tutu in gold, red, silver and green with buttons at the front, green-gold fishnet tights and point shoes. She has a gold tiara and an elaborate necklace. In her right hand she holds a tiny gold umbrella. The figure stands in front of a black frame, breaking the frame at top and bottom. Within the frame, on an attached strip of white paper, right, is printed  the ballet title, 'Snow Queen', in capital letters, with, on a second strip of paper and in smaller capital lettering, is printed 'Act One: The Cirque'. On a third strip of paper and outside the frame is the word, 'Ballerina', printed in capitals in a different font. All running up the paper from bottom to top. On the left side of the frame is pencilled ‘Scottish Ballet’, similarly running up the paper from bottom to top. ","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Brotherston, Lez","id":"A6676"},"association":{"text":"costume designers","id":"AAT163428"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"watercolour","id":"x33202"},{"text":"ink","id":"AAT15012"},{"text":"pencil","id":"x30347"},{"text":"paper","id":"x30308"}],"techniques":[{"text":"painting (image-making)","id":"AAT54216"},{"text":"drawing (image-making)","id":"AAT54196"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Watercolour, ink and pencil on paper","categories":[{"text":"Entertainment & Leisure","id":"THES48959"},{"text":"Designs","id":"THES48968"},{"text":"Dance","id":"THES252984"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&P","id":"THES48602"},"images":["2023NH9979"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"003","id":"THES402711"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"costume designs","id":""}],[{"text":"theatre designs","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Great Britain","id":"x32019"},"association":{"text":"designed","id":"x29338"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"2019","earliest":"2019-01-01","latest":"2019-12-31"},"association":{"text":"designed","id":"x29338"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by the designer","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"31","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"41","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Design by Lez Brotherston for the ballerina in the travelling circus in <i>The Snow Queen</i>, choreographed by Christopher Hampson for Scottish Ballet, 2019","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["S.683-2021"],"accessionNumberNum":"683","accessionNumberPrefix":"S","accessionYear":2021,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-01-26","recordCreationDate":"2021-05-21","availableToBook":false}}