Chimerica (Conceptual)|Set & Costume Design
Written by - Lucy Kirkwood | Director - Patrick Connellan | Chapter Art Centre Studio - Cardiff 2019
In 1989 tanks roll through Tiananmen Square, crushing the protesters’ cries for democracy. Joe, a young America photojournalist, captures a moment of defiance that comes to symbolize the struggle: an unarmed civilian standing boldly in front of tanks. More than twenty years later, we follow Joe, whose quest through America’s Chinese community in search of the "Tank Man” will jeopardise his life, work, and love.
Chimerica’s complex text demands multiple locations, magical realism, and iconic imagery. The logistical hurdle was in creating a space flexible enough to accommodate these needs, while also allowing the design to serve the themes of the text; duplicity, manipulation of imagery, and the true nature of heroism.
Storyboards
Plastic sheeting wraps the stage, functioning both as a surface for projection to incorporate the play’s many iconic locations, as well as extending the motif of a factory making a commentary on the capitalist nature of both countries. It also creates hidden areas that the community cast can appear and watch from, giving the feeling of state surveillance. The tarmac road keeps the space abstract in line with the magical realism of the production whilst foreshadowing the play’s final reveal. A news ticker hangs above everything, saturating the audience with propaganda and information that works in tandem with the character’s commentary on truth throughout the text.
Costumes
Process
Reference Images
