ABSTRACT
As in the case of stage directions, the visual dimension of theatre is in general accorded a somewhat surprisingly low priority in critical and theoretical discussion. Reviewers on occasion pay some regard to the work of the set or costume designer. Collections of designs are published, usually in the manner of ‘coffee table’ books. Like catalogues for design exhibitions, they tend to be confined to a selection of illustrations, and biographical material on the participating designers. The catalogue for the recent exhibition ‘British Theatre Design: 1983–1987’ (Ackermann et al. 1987) constitutes a representative example. The exhibition was assembled as a showcase for the work of members of the Society of British Theatre Designers. A significant proportion of the designs exhibited were complex and challenging, but no attempt was made, either in the exhibition itself or in the catalogue, to provide a contextual and critical framework. One commendable exception to this regrettable rule is John Willett’s analytical monograph on Caspar Neher, who designed for Brecht throughout the latter’s working life, published to accompany a touring exhibition of Neher’s work selected by Willett and organised by the Arts Council of Great Britain (1986).
