{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1625575"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1625575/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2023NJ2454/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2023NJ2454/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2023NJ2454","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1625575","accessionNumber":"S.831-2021","objectType":"Costume design","titles":[{"title":"Swan Lake","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"Design by Lez Brotherston for the Queen’s costume, worn for a formal visit to the theatre in Act 1 Scene 3 of a revival of Matthew Bourne’s <i>Swan Lake</i> for New Adventures. The Queen is seen in a theatre box, watching a late 19th-century ballet. \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. In 1998, Brotherston received the Olivier Award’s Outstanding Achievement in Dance for Matthew Bourne’s <i>Cinderella</i>. 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\nFollowing its creation in 1995, <i>Swan Lake</i>, an up-to-date reinterpretation of the late 19th-century ballet by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa, has been seen throughout the world. Among the 30 awards received over 25 years are the Society of West End Theatre Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production (1996) and the Tony Awards for Best Director of a Musical and Best Choreography for Matthew Bourne and Best Costume Design for Lez Brotherston (1999). It is noted as the longest running ballet in London's West End (although not in one continuous run). Brotherston was not Bourne's first choice of designer for <i>Swan Lake</i> as they had recently collaborated on <i>Highland Fling</i> and Bourne had already designed a <i>Swan Lake</i> for Northern Ballet. However, by choosing to work together, they cemented a theatre partnership that has continued though all New Adventures productions. \n\nThe Queen was initially played by ballerinas late in their careers, including Fiona Chadwick, who created the role for Bourne, and Lynn Seymour, but is now played by regular members of the company. The character appears formal, focusing on her public duties, aloof and remote from her son, the Prince, but off-duty is attracted to young men. Bourne said 'I always felt  that there was a certain amount of satire to be had from the Queen figure...The private-public life was what I wanted to play with quite a lot.'","physicalDescription":"Costume design by Lez Brotherston for the Queen's formal evening dress in <i>Swan Lake</i>. Full length female figure, looking to viewer's left. She wears a floor-length white, strapless overdress, the skirt open at the front to reveal a gold lining and a sheath underskirt of similar length, the underskirt in white, decorated all over with gold and red crystals. She has long white evening gloves and a gold necklace and earrings. There is a suggestion of a fluffy white wrap or boa. The figure stands in front of a black frame, breaking the  frame at top and bottom. In pencil, upper right, are the words, ‘Queen for Theatre'. At the left hand side, within the frame, is pencilled, 'New costume for revival \"Swan Lake', 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"},{"text":"","id":""}],"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":["2023NJ2454"],"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":"2010s","earliest":"2010-01-01","latest":"2019-12-31"},"association":{"text":"designed","id":"x29338"},"note":"The design is undated but is clearly for a revival, rather than the original 1995 production. The V&A holds designs for the 1995 and 2004 productions and also some undated designs, which, like this one, are probably from the 2010s."}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by the designer","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"41","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"31","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Design by Lez Brotherston for the Queen’s costume, worn for a visit to the theatre in Act 1 Scene 3 of a revival of Matthew Bourne’s <i>Swan Lake</i> for New Adventures ","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["S.831-2021"],"accessionNumberNum":"831","accessionNumberPrefix":"S","accessionYear":2021,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-01-26","recordCreationDate":"2021-05-21","availableToBook":false}}