Written by Joy Wilkinson. Directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson.
The Sweet Science of Bruising embeds you into a story of love, loss, abuse, empowerment, liberation, solidarity, friendship, and so much more. The script, packed with meaning, explores female strength, rage, and fight through the enticing journeys of four very different Victorian women and their unconventional Professor Charlie Sharp, who surreptitiously orchestrates underground “lady-boxing”.
Venue: The George Harrison Workshop Studio, Liverpool
Violet Hunter, Mind
Polly Stokes, Heart
Anna Lamb, Soul
Matilda Blackwell, Body
In an Interview, Joy Wilkinson explained how the four women can be broken down into body parts: mind, heart, soul, and body. These themes launched my initial design spiral into creating contemporary Victorian era costume designs, faithful to the period, 1869, but also faithful to the emotive response from the play. Corsets, an integral aspect of Victorian era London and female fashion, became my pinpoint to identify the body parts for each character, hand painting and decorating each one to relay these themes.
Professor Charlie Sharp
Emily
Gabriel Lamb
Dr James Bell
The rationale behind Gabriel Lamb's costume design -
Anna Lamb, dressed in a green colour palette to represent the naturalistic and environmental theme of Soul, was married to her abusive husband, Gabriel Lamb. I designed him to have a green necktie, to mimic the physical abuse he inflicted on Anna and maintain the colour palette of her storyline. *Spoiler alert* He deceitfully pursues Matilda Blackwell romantically, which led me to design the feature of an orange pocket swatch to match her corset and tie him to her storyline as well, foreshadowing his unfaithfulness.
