{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1625566"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1625566/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2023NH9997/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2023NH9997/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2023NH9997","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1625566","accessionNumber":"S.822-2021","objectType":"Costume design","titles":[{"title":"The Nutcracker","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"Design by Lez Brotherston for a ‘Russian Man’ in Act 2, The Kingdom of the Sweets, in the revival of Peter Darrell’s ballet <i>The Nutcracker</i> for Scottish Ballet, 2014.\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\nPeter Darrell created his version of <i>The Nutcracker</i> for Scottish Ballet in 1972-3, as one of the traditional ballets which he felt should be in the repertory of a national company. The choreography was credited to Darrell and Lev Ivanov and the designs were by Philip Prowse. The staging allowed the ballet to tour effectively, and it proved very popular with audiences. Prowse’s set and costumes were in use until 1997. Though his designs survived, it was decided to commission Lez Brotherston to create a new staging when the company revived <i>The Nutcracker</i> for Christmas 2014. Darrell’s ballet was so well loved that Brotherston felt he should honour the original designs while revitalising the production for 21st-century audiences. Philip Prowse had been one of Brotherston’s tutors at the Central School of Art. \n\nIn the second act of <i>The Nutcracker</i> (traditionally The Kingdom of Sweets) there are a series of ‘national’ dances. In his production, Darrell’s Russian Dance was performed by a trio of clowns who, in 2014, wore red and gold costumes based on this design. Their dance is an energetic tumbling act. At Christmas 2024-5 Scottish Ballet's <i>Nutcracker</i> was revised and re-choreographed by Christopher Hampson and a team of choreographers, with Sopie Laplane creating a new Russian number for the Trepak (the Russian dance). now for four dancers. A programme note stated: 'The red velvet four-part clown suit is incredibly heavy, so rehearsals have been in costume to make sure the dancers can achieve all acrobatic movements. More partner work and lifts have been made possible by changing the dance from a trio to a quad; look out for the jumping chest bump, similar to Peter Darrell's 1972 choreography.'.\n\nThe images mounted on the design indicate the research that Lez Brotherston undertakes when creating his designs. The image, upper left, shows one the V&A’s 18th-century costumes used in the private theatre at Meleto Castle, Tuscany (S.92-1978). The image below is of a clown outfit worn by Grimaldi, now in the possession of the Museum of London. These serve to indicate the shape of the tunic and sleeves.\r\n","physicalDescription":"Costume design by Lez Brotherston for a 'Russian Man' in <i>The Nutcracker</i>. Full length male figure, looking to viewer's left. He is a white-face clown, wearing a red and blue skirted tunic with layered sleeves and a white ruff, red and blue breeches, blue stockings and red shoes with a small heel. The tunic and breeches are decorated in gold and the cuffs and the hem of the breeches are trimmed with gold lace. He has a tripartite wig of red hair. Mounted, left, are two images showing the inspiration for the shape of the tunic and the sleeves, the upper image of one the V&A’s 18th-century costumes (S.92-1978), the lower a clown outfit worn by Grimaldi, now held by the Museum of London. The printed title, 'Nutcracker', in shadow font capital letters, is mounted, right, running up the paper from bottom to top, with, upper right, in a similar, smaller font, the words 'Russian Man', running from left to right. The company name, 'Scottish Ballet', in similar lettering, is mounted to right of the figure, the words at right angles so that 'Scottish' runs up the paper from bottom to top and 'Ballet', below, runs from left to right. To lower right is the pencil annotation, 'x 3 men'. All edges of the design are painted in a ragged black pattern to create a frame.","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":["2023NH9997"],"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":"2014","earliest":"2014-01-01","latest":"2014-12-31"},"association":{"text":"designed","id":"x29338"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by the designer","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"29.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"42","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Design by Lez Brotherston for a ‘Russian Man’ in Act 2 of the revival of Peter Darrell’s ballet <i>The Nutcracker</i> for Scottish Ballet, 2014","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["S.822-2021"],"accessionNumberNum":"822","accessionNumberPrefix":"S","accessionYear":2021,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-01-26","recordCreationDate":"2021-05-21","availableToBook":false}}