Creating Elsinore

Film maker: Joanna Coates

Creating Elsinore is a short film focusing on the context of the play, the space in which Hamlet exists. It asks key questions about the play's setting and discusses some of the ways the space has been viewed and interpreted on stage at the National Theatre.

Set design

The Designer on a show usually collaborates with the Director to create the world of the play. A Designer works with the Production Manager and creative team to turn their designs into a stage reality often making a model box of the set for the team to work from and designs for the costumes.

Rae Smith's set design

Rae Smith talks about her set design for All's Well That Ends Well.
Using video in performance

Rae Smith talks about designing and using animation as a scenic background.
Set design from concept to reality

An overview of the set design from concept to reality.
Preparations for the build

The Production Manager oversees the process from delivery of the finished set model through to build.
Development from design to stage

The relationship between the Designer and the Production Manager is pivotal to turn a design concept into a staged reality.
Set mechanics and movement

The White Guard set is one of the largest sets ever designed and constructed for the Lyttelton stage.
Design inspiration for The White Guard

Bunny Christie recalls her inspiration for the astonishingly large and complex set.
The art of cart

This video looks at the design of the cart in Mother Courage and Her Children.
Creating a visual narrative

In this video Deborah Warner talks about her approach to the design of Mother Courage and Her Children.
Cinematography in a multimedia production

Katie Mitchell's Waves and ...some trace of her looked for new ways to represent human behaviour.
Rae Smith interviewed live on set

As part of the live broadcast of All’s Well That Ends Well for NT Live, Alex Jennings interviewed Rae Smith on the stage of the Olivier theatre about her designs for the production.
Creating Elsinore

Where is Elsinore? Why is Hamlet so often revisited? Discover more about the play and the space in which it takes place.
The Linbury Prize 2011

The Linbury Prize for Stage Design is the UK’s most prestigious award for stage design.
A design concept realised

The relationship between the Designer and the Production Manager is pivotal to turn a design concept into a staged reality.
Set Design for The Cherry Orchard

Bunny Christie and Howard Davies talk about the set design in The Cherry Orchard
The Making of Timon - Behind the scenes

Creatives from the production talk about the process of Making Timon of Athens for the National Theatre.

Creating Elsinore

Set design

Video Collections