Just A Quickie with... Lili Rogu (pronounced Rogay), French designer of the Theatre Royal's set for Hobson's Choice.

Lili, after graduating with a first in set and costume design, how did your appointment to design the set as your first professional assignment come about?

"When I was in my second year of my BA course at Nottingham Trent University, you do placements at theatres. You sign up for the theatre you'd like to go to and I liked the fact the York Theatre Royal was offering the chance to be an assistant director (for the rehearsal period of All My Sons). Damian Cruden, the artistic director, gave me pretty much a free hand.

"I then won the York Prize, which was set up by Damian and Liam Doona, who trained at Trent and was head of the course there for a long time. For the prize I had to do design projects for two upcoming Theatre Royal shows, A Cloud In Trousers in The Studio and Hobson's Choice in the main house.

"I was then supposed to design the Studio show as the prize, but Damian decided he'd like to use my design for Hobson's Choice instead."

Damian is not directing Hobson's Choice, however, so you had to meet the guest director, Gregory Floy.

"I was sent to London to meet Gregory at his house, with my design model, and we chatted all afternoon. There were a few things he wanted to change but he loved the central circle. What he liked about the set was that it was minimalist."

For a play in which Maggie Hobson breaks free from her father's family business, you have designed a stage reminiscent of a bird cage.

"The idea was to find something that was generic to the whole of the play. I wanted to translate the atmosphere of the Victorian era and the play at the same time into the three interior settings. You don't want something horrible on stage but you do want it to be dark, enclosed and stuffy, so there's a lot of ironwork: a bit like a prison."

Hobson's Choice, The Studio, York Theatre Royal, until April 16.

Updated: 16:41 Thursday, March 31, 2005