Five great plays... to challenge your design students (Summer 1 2021/22)

Force Majeure by Tim Price

Cast: 8m, 5f

Synopsis: Tomas and Ebba are determined to have quality family time with their children, so they head to the Alps on a skiing trip. But when disaster strikes, their family unit is tested to breaking point, with hilarious and tragic consequences…

Why it's great…: The background mountains provide a great challenge for set designers, and sound designers will also have to tangle with the destructive explosion that is the catalyst for the play's action. There are also plenty of skiing props and costumes required throughout.

The Glow by Alistair McDowall

Cast: 2m, 2f

Synopsis: 1863. An asylum. A woman is locked in a windowless cell, with no memory as to who she is, or how she arrived there. When spiritualist medium Mrs Lyall requires a new assistant, this nameless woman seems the perfect candidate. But as the woman's past begins to reveal itself, so do new powers neither are prepared for.

Why it's great…: The play jumps through multiple time periods – from pre-historic to Medieval to Victorian England, up to the late 20th century and modern day – so costume designers will have their work cut out for them. The original production used minimal set dressing and projections to define space, but set designers may wish to try a different approach. The main character is also supposed to use magic and ‘glow’ somehow – up to you what that might look like!

Overflow by Travis Alabanza

Cast: 1f (the original production had one actor play multiple characters, so more roles could be created if required. Casting note: the main character in Overflow is a trans woman).

Synopsis: Cornered into a flooding toilet cubicle and determined not to be rescued again, Rosie distracts herself with memories of bathroom encounters. Drunken heart-to-hearts by dirty sinks, friendships forged in front of crowded mirrors, and hiding together from trouble. But with her panic rising and no help on its way, can she keep her head above water?

Why it's great…: The entire plays unfolds in a single space: a public bathroom with a toilet and sink, both of which start progressively overflowing and flooding the stage – a fun challenge for set designers! Audio cues are of great importance too: from diegetic, escalating noises outside the bathroom to non-diegetic rave music to underscore certain flashbacks or out-of-the-narrative moments.

Forgotten by Daniel York Loh

Cast: 4m, 2f (Casting note: the character of Eunuch Lin was originally played by a trans man.)

Synopsis: 1917. Shandong Province, Northern China. Times are tough in Horse Shoe Village. Old Six and Second Moon struggle to earn enough to feed their young child. Big Dog struggles to overcome opium addiction, and for Eunuch Lin, the fall of the Imperial Dynasty couldn't have come at a worse time. Could a fierce war far away in Europe present an opportunity to put both themselves and their struggling nation on its feet? Forgotten is inspired by the little-known story of the 140,000 Chinese Labour Corps who worked for Britain and the Allies behind the front lines during WW1.

Why it's great…: With both early-1900s rural Chinese costumes and WW1-era uniforms, costume designers will have a vast range of material to draw inspiration from. The realistic setting of the play also calls for detailed staging, so set designers and prop makers will have to work hard to faithfully represent both spaces. Finally, sound design takes centre stage in both war scenes (think gunshots and explosions) and quieter scenes requiring the use of Chinese opera instruments.

Mr Burns by Anne Washburn

Cast: 4m, 4f

Synopsis: It's the end of everything in contemporary America. A future without power. But what will survive? Mr Burns asks how the stories we tell make us the people we are, explodes the boundaries between pop and high culture and, when society has crumbled, imagines the future for America's most famous family.

Why it's great…: The central conceit of Mr Burns is deceptively simple: what if a post-apocalyptic society one hundred years in the future made The Simpsons their primary cultural icons? The possibilities this opens up for designers are boundless: the three acts of the play require three set variations on The Simpsons, and the human characters eventually start doubling with Simpsons characters. Combined with a post-apocalyptic environment and Simpsons-derived cultural imagery, this will be a fun challenge for both costume, make-up and prop designers.

Discover more of Methuen's texts at https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/series/modern-plays/