Critical Costume 2026 Exhibit. Travelling Pedagogies in a Pocket is an interactive, micro-curated work that explores how costume knowledge is produced, disseminated, and transformed through tactile and participatory encounters. The installation comprises an array of pockets in varied shapes and sizes which position the pockets simultaneously as costume elements and as pedagogical containers that invite …
Butterfly Kiss
Butterfly Kisses is a poetic and sensory performance about transformation, beauty, and the fleeting nature of life. Inspired by the rare Large Blue butterfly, the performance weaves together dance, stories, costumes, and striking visual transformations with portraits of remarkable women such as Maria Sibylla Merian, Frida Kahlo, and Loïe Fuller. Moving between nature, art, and …
Insubordinate Costume: Inspiring Performance
Published 16th December 2024 Insubordinate Costume: Inspiring Performance presents a comprehensive study of historical and contemporary examples of scenographic costume – the type of costume that creates an almost complete stage environment by itself, simultaneously acting as costume, set and performance. This book provides readers with an overview of the costumes, designers, context and theory that …
Performative Pockets
Performer Tilde Knudsen of Asterions Hus, Teater Mon. Costume Designer: Susan Marshall. Pockets made by Susan Marshall and Costume Design students from AFOL Moda Milano: Alice Archinti, Elisa Battivelli, Francesco Carcione, Alice Paggi, Matilde Romano.
Richard III – William Shakespeare
La Dual Band’s Richard III is a dark, fast-paced journey through a dysfunctional royal family consumed by ambition, violence, and the hunger for power. Kings rise and fall, while Richard cuts a ruthless path toward the crown. At the heart of the performance stand the women—queens, mothers, wives, and grandmothers—who witness the destruction of their …
Marta of Liselund
The romantic landscaped park at Liselund, on the island of Møn in Denmark, with its little palace and Chinese, Swiss and Norwegian guest houses is poetic and a little magical. The costumes for the production of The White Lady were inspired by nature and by Marta of Liselund who lived independently as lady of the manor …
Workshop – Alice in Wonderland – Campsirago
Workshop with Tilde Knudsen of Teater Asterions Hus at Campsirago Residenza
Alice in Wonderland
“I knew who I was this morning, but I’ve changed a few times since then.” Tilde Knudsen of Teater Asterions Hus performed Alice in Wonderland in a live stream from the island of Møn in Denmark during Covid 19 as the theatres were closed. Photos: Emile Carlsen
Deus Ex Musical
Costume as scenography for Deus Ex Musical performed by La Dual Band nel Cielo sotto Milano, March 2019. Written and directed by Anna Zapparoli. Music by Mario Borciani. Scenography and costumes Susan Marshall.
Metamorphosis of a costume
‘Insubordinate Costume’ PhD research, MA Performance workshop, Goldsmiths, January 2019. Performer: Luigi Ambrosio. Insubordinate costumes subvert the traditional hierarchies of the theatre by becoming the starting point of a performance. Their design imposes on the performers which usually necessitates an alternative, creative approach to space, form and movement. As part of my PhD research exploring the link between play and scenographic costume, I have developed …
Origami Fortune Teller
‘Insubordinate Costume’ PhD research, #Critical Costume 2018 After an indepth survey of the use of scenographic costume in theatre, performance and fashion for my PhD, it was surprising to discover that, with one or two exceptions, the costumes were designed by artists, choreographers, performance artists and fashion designers rather than by costume designers or scenographers. …
San Vittore Globe Theatre – Le Tempeste
San Vittore Globe Theatre Le Tempeste, Castello Sforzesco, July 2018. Directed by Donatella Massimilla. Costumes: Susan Marshall photo: Antonio Occhiuto
The Tempest
The Tempest, William Shakespeare. Performed by La Dual Band sotto il Cielo di Milano. Directed by Anna Zapparoli, costumes: Susan Marshall.
The Importance of Being Ernest
The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wild, performed by La Dual Band sotto il Cielo di Milano. Directed by Anna Zapparoli, costumes Susan Marshall. Photo Rossana Mola
Delineavit
Written and directed by Mauro Gentile, actors: Simona Cavalli, Giulia Moroni, Stefania Vianello, costumes: Susan Marshall. Delineavit focuses on the life and memories of Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway. In an unusual collaboration between costume designer and director, the costume inspired much of the script. Anne Hathaway’s dress is a patchwork of drawings and textile printing on unbleached …
San Vittore Globe Theatre – Le Tempeste
San Vittore Globe Theatre Le Tempeste, Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato, October 2017. Directed by Donatella Massimilla. Costumes: Susan Marshall. Photos: Antonio Occhiuto
Cocoon
‘Insubordinate Costume’ PhD research, workshop with choreographer and dancer Giulia Moroni. Costumes fulfil a fundamental function in the theatre but are frequently taken for granted unless they contravene the expectations of audience or critics. Designs are usually dictated by practicalities, or placed within the confines of text, directorial notions, predefined choreography or the passive function …
Thoughts on the body
What is the body? ‘The human body has the strange quality of being a given. It’s as if the body is so fundamental to our existence that we take it for granted’ writes Chris McAuliffe in the introduction to the exhibition catalogue ‘The body, the ruin’ (Crone, 2005). This may be the case but questions …
La Serva Padrona
La Serva Padrona by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. Performed by La Dual Band nel Cielo sotto Milano. Directed by Anna Zapparoli, costumes: Susan Marshall
San Vittore Globe Theatre – Le Tempeste
San Vittore Globe Theatre Le Tempeste, Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato, Decembre 2016. Directed by Donatella Massimilla. Costumes: Susan Marshall. Photo: Marica Moretti
Il Nuovo Teatro delle Meraviglie
San Vittore Globe Theatre Il Nuovo Teatrino delle Meraviglie, Castello Sforzesco, August 2016. Director Donatella Masimilla, costumes: Susan Marshall Photos: Francesco Tadini
A Walk with Shakespeare
A Walk with Shakespeare by Maggie Rose, touring production. Directed by Donatella Massimilla, costumes: Susan Marshall. Photo: Joshua Gianoli
Shakespeare nel Giardino delle Erbe
Shakespeare nel Giardino delle Erbe by Maggie Rose, performed by Teatro dell’Armadillo, Botanical Gardens Milan. Directed by Mauro Gentile, costumes: Susan Marshall
