Set Design

While the Rose and Cantonese opera relied on simple props and a relatively static backdrop, Komediehuset and the Queen’s used the standard wing and groove system for moveable scenery to create spectacles. The Stardust showroom expanded significantly on the potential for spectacle, using 1950s’ state-of-the-art technologies.

Mid 19th century theatres

Comparing set design at the Queen’s and Komediehuset

The similarities between the Queen’s and Komediehuset can be seen in the ground plans for Othello (1841) and Olaf Liljekrans (1857). The stage picture is made up of painted wings at the side of the stage, borders suspended from the beams above the stage, and cloths hanging at the back of the stage. But the proscenium arches in these theatres are very different. The Queen’s follows the British tradition with proscenium doors, while Komediehuset has neo-classical columns.

Othello at the Queen’s in 1841

The painted proscenium, with its doors either side of the stage, visually links the auditorium and playing space. The design follows the conventions of the period by echoing the proscenium design on the wings, the arched vista for the court scene in Venice, and the placing of Desdemona’s bed upstage behind curtains.

Scenery at Komediehuset

The theatre opened without built-in stage machinery; the carriage-and-frame wing mechanism was installed in 1825. This system for changing the wings was popular throughout continental Europe.

The designs from Ibsen plays recreated in the VR Komediehuset demonstrate three different scenic techniques:

• the static open wing set from Olaf Liljekrans;

• the box set from The Wild Duck with the first three sets of wings repositioned to form interior side walls; and

• the moving open wing set that transforms from the house exterior to the mountain landscape in final act of John Gabriel Borkman.

Rose Theatre

Set design at the Rose was generally very simple. The painted interior of the venue provided the ‘set’ rather than backdrops. Henslowe, the owner of the venue, kept a diary which records the larger props he owned, although he didn’t record detail about their appearance or manufacture. A rich visual effect came from the costumes which, for high-ranking roles, were very fine.

Spectacle

Despite the simplicity of set design at the Rose, companies often sought to create spectacles to attract audiences, including:

• Dragons and devils

• Thunder and lightning

• Smoke and fire effects

• Trees that could be climbed, sometimes with apples, sometimes golden trees

The main ‘tyer’ man (or stage-hand) at the Rose was Steven Magett in 1594. He and his men wore blue tunics.

3-dimensionality of this stage

The intimacy of this venue meant that an actor on the edge of the stage was only 50 ft away from the furthest spectator. That, and the round shape meant that the actors could see, feel, and perform to all spectators. Performance would have been very engaging rather than the ‘flatter’ effects of proscenium arch theatre. 

Adding even more of a spiral effect to this communication, the Lords’ box provided an additional ‘stage’ since actors and audiences would defer to their higher status. The blocking of stage action would pay deference to the occupants of the Lords’ box with the placement of actors moving out concentrically according to their status.

Scenic spectacle at the Stardust

Scenic design for the Stardust showroom framed fictional settings within the proscenium arch. Painted backdrops and flats flown in from the fly tower set the scene, deploying artistic techniques of pictorial illusion that were developed in earlier theatres.

The company of showgirls and dancers, dressed in costumes that evoked the fictional setting, then carried the scenic design onto the stage apron that curved into the auditorium. In moving towards the audience in scenic-themed costumes, the Lido ensemble animated the setting, bringing the stage picture to life.

Lido up-close from Paris to Las Vegas

The Giant Waterfall

The Stardust showroom was equipped with machinery for scenic spectacle – including a waterfall, an ice-rink, a swimming pool and fireworks.

Setting up the Giant Waterfall involved sliding a portion of the stage floor onto an elevator to uncover the swimming pool. Stagehands unwinched a fold-out framework carrying the water course, lashed waterproof flaps at folds in the framework, and arranged the hoses that carried the water.

Pumps in the basement sent 4,800 gallons of water (18,170 litres) per minute cascading over the waterfall and into the swimming pool. Despite the realism of running water on stage, the waterfall was framed by two-dimensional scenic flats, painted to depict the Amazon setting.

These photographs of the Great Waterfall in Ca C’est L’Amour by Lido de Paris at the Stardust are from the Donn Arden Collection, Special Collections, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries.