‘Anything Goes’ is a musical that tells an American story on the deck of a glamorous and authentic cruise ship. My aim was to bring a unique freshness to the set to help make it individual. I did this through the use of bright colours and precise detailing; working with the lighting designer we were able to create combinations between the brightness of the set and contrast this with the lighting. This worked really well because the dominant colours on set were reds, blues, whites and black – providing a lot of scope for creativity. This slightly outlandish approach was inspired by Tony Walton – a personal hero of mine, as well as an outstanding set designer. He famously designed a set for a broadway showing of ‘Anything Goes’, I was able to use a lot of his original ideas and insights into the play and adapt them for this specific context. I also drew on of Derek Mclane’s renowned set which he produced for the 2011 Tony Awards; his approach to set design was a complement to the broader approach I have taken which uses the colour of Broadway. The product was a very colourful, clean, modern set, which draws the audience in through its use of different heights and depths. This all come together to create a dynamic and engaging set which augments the production and ultimately enables the cast to create a truly unique production on what I think is a genuinely individual and memorable set.
Anything Goes Oxford 