Coronavirus: Stage designers launch peer support group

Olivier award-winning creatives including Bunny Christie, Vicki Mortimer and Katrina Lindsay have launched a group to support designers through Covid-19 and help theatres bring shows back into production.

#scenechange began as an email exchange between a group of set and costume designers, which also included Anna Fleischle, Lizzie Clachan, Soutra Gilmour, Madeleine Girling and Max Jones, but has now grown into a community of more than 700 members.

The group aims to provide a platform for theatre set and costume designers at all stages in their careers to discuss how to navigate the Covid-19 crisis and engage with other freelancers from all theatre disciplines by hosting informal discussions on Zoom.

On its website, #scenechange will also include a blog from designers, an open forum and information on support and emergency funding for freelancers.

A statement from #scenechange said: “This is a moment of reset in our industry and we believe the design community can be an essential part of the transformation that will see theatre buildings being reopened and the ways in which theatre can be reimagined.

"As shapers of theatrical space through the use of people and place, our work is pivotal in connecting an entire ecosystem within the theatre industry. We are ideally positioned to be at the heart of any discussions about how theatre operates in the future".

Others involved include Tom Piper, Jemima Robinson, Rajha Shakiry, Rae Smith, Ben Stones, Lily Arnold, Jon Bausor, Ruth Hall, Natasha Jenkins, Simon Kenny and Lucy Osborne.

Details of the discussions that will be hosted by #scenechange can be found here.