It's a real costume drama

IT'S not every day you see a trio of giggling 18th century ladies, complete with bonnets and ringlets, buying pencils in a gift shop. But then these were not every day ladies.

Olivia Darnley, Charlotte Parry and Jenni Maitland, who are all appearing at York Theatre Royal in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, had posed patiently for our photographer - and the tourists with their ever-clicking cameras - and were now having a girlie moment in the gift shop at Fairfax House.

"Let's buy pencils," squealed Jenni. "You can't leave a gift shop without buying pencils."

There is something about 18th century dresses that make grown women come over all giggly. Maybe it's the beribboned high waistlines, maybe it's the delicate petticoats or maybe it's those slightly ridiculous bonnets, but whatever the reason, behind-the-hand sniggers are a certainty.

The process of making these authentic looking costumes, however, is a serious business that starts months before the production is due to open.

Juliette Berry, the theatre's head of wardrobe, meets with the designer - Mark Bailey, in the case of Northanger Abbey - to thrash out the look of the show.

"It's my job to interpret the designs they come up with," said Juliette. "I have quite a tight budget for each show - something in the region of £10,000 - so I have to introduce practical concepts such as cost and feasibility into the creative process."

The designs for this production came from one of the lesser known tools in the costume-maker's sewing box: the Janet Arnold pattern book. She made life much easier for designers by studying period costumes in intricate detail, researching how they were put together thread by thread, and then turning her findings into a step-by-step pattern book.

"All her patterns are on graph paper, so we just have to copy them out to size and cut the fabric accordingly," said Juliette.

All the fabrics and most of the accessories are bought in London about seven weeks before a show is due to open, giving Juliette and her team six weeks to make up the costumes before dress rehearsals begin.

The Northanger Abbey dresses were not particularly expensive to make. The fabric, a light, easy-to-wear muslin, was £13 a metre, with about six metres needed for each dress.

"We went for muslin because it is actually mentioned in the script," said Juliette. "You always have to take the words of the play into account. For instance, one character says 'I will wear nothing but purple', so we had to give her a purple dress."

Including the extras, there are about 25 costumes in this production. Attention to detail is carried through the entire cast, but more time is spent on the costumes of the principal players.

"We can usually mix and match a few things from our existing wardrobe," said Juliette, "but you've got to be very careful about recycling old costumes. You can just about get away with it on an extra, if you update it and throw in a few additions, but you can't get away with it on a principal. It sticks out like a sore thumb and someone will always spot it."

Before Northanger Abbey opened on May 24, she was already working on two upcoming productions: Pocket Dreams and The Derby McQueen Affair. But she has worked backstage for almost 14 years, so juggling shows is not a problem.

Juliette began her career as a fashion designer and illustrator. She got the opportunity to work on the costumes for Buxton Opera Festival, and then found herself as a wardrobe assistant at The Crucible Theatre, where she stayed for eight years, eventually supervising and making costumes for her own shows.

She has been head of wardrobe in York for almost six years. Her work keeps her very busy, but she still finds time to do some freelancing, most notably making all the costumes for the Jorvik Viking Centre.

Every show is a new challenge, but she feels her best work so far was on last year's production of Amadeus.

"The costumes worked perfectly," she said. "They were bright and colourful, and they fitted the period really well. I was very pleased with that, but I'm always looking forward and thinking about the next project. I'm already starting to mull over ideas for next spring's production of Macbeth."

Juliette is a skilful costumier, but she has had to develop new skills when dealing with actors, designers and directors. Sometimes nothing less than a degree in diplomacy is required.

"Some actors are happy to wear whatever you give them," she said, "but others have their own ideas. Let's just say the word 'compromise' crops up a lot."

She has obviously not had to compromise on Northanger Abbey. The costumes all look the part, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating and, presumably, the proof of the frock is in the wearing. So what do they feel like?

The actresses, who were corralled in the beautiful Fairfax House dining room, where one was pretending to play the piano while the others poked about curiously among the plastic food, were more than willing to share their thoughts.

"The style is not exactly flattering, but the costumes themselves are very comfortable," said Charlotte. "We can actually breathe, talk and walk all at the same time."

"I feel like a pregnant Weeble in mine," said Jenni.

Cue more giggling.

Northanger Abbey is playing at York Theatre Royal until Saturday June 12. To check ticket availability, phone the box office on 01904 623568. Fairfax House is in Castlegate, York. Phone 01904 655543 for opening times.

Updated: 16:05 Friday, June 04, 2004