‘Nickleby’ costumes impress

If you thought the nearly seven-hour duration or the lineup of more than 150 characters spoke to the scope of “Nicholas Nickleby,” try counting the costumes and sets that allow the show to go on.

The production crew created or borrowed 700 costume pieces, a 1,000-pound steel platform and locations for all the scenes. The first half alone has 35 sets.

PlayMakers Repertory Company opened “Nicholas Nickleby” on Nov. 11 and will perform the show through Dec. 20 at Paul Green Theatre.

The show’s elaborate costumes and sets contribute to its $311,000 cost. A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts supplied $30,000 of the total for the performance, which is based on Charles Dickens’ novel.

“Dickens’ world is so rich that you can pull from the language and pull from the text before looking at the illustrations. It’s a gold mine,” said McKay Coble, chairwoman of the Department of Dramatic Art.

Coble said that those who know their Dickens will find her sets familiar.

Illustrations from the original edition of “Nicholas Nickleby” served as a reference for several of the sets.

The set is constructed as a single unit, with interchangeable pieces that work together to create varied environments.

“It actually captures a whole lot of different locations, encompassing the industrial feel of the time, one class building itself on top of another class of people, economic struggles, poverty next to wealth, and beauty next to squalor,” Coble said.

The back wall to the stage has been left open, extending to the back of the theater to give viewers a sense of London’s streets and their exceptional depth.

Overall, by changing various elements within the larger unit, the designers of “Nicholas Nickleby” will take viewers around England, from a city apartment building to the countryside.

“Ultimately for scenery and costumes, the designers and directors have a vision and an aesthetic for the show. The shops carry that artistic vision through to what the audience sees,” said Michael Rolleri, production manager for PlayMakers.

The costumes might be even more of a colossal task, with 150 characters, some of whom have multiple costumes.

“I’ve never designed a show this big in over 30 years,” said Jan Chambers, costume designer for “Nicholas Nickleby.”

PlayMakers budgeted $15,000 for the costumes. The company is treating “Nicholas Nickleby” as the equivalent of two plays budget-wise, because it is presented in two self-contained parts, Chambers wrote in an e-mail.

Some costumes are produced on site, while others are borrowed.

“We can usually build a show in three to four weeks, but they’ve been working on costumes since Aug. 1,” Rolleri said.

“Even now we have to be careful once we have all costumes in dressing rooms to get actors in there, too.”

Matters are further complicated when it comes to costume changes, which involve a station of five people who might have to undress and redress an actor within a matter of 15 seconds.

“There’s no way we could make the changes if we didn’t quick-rig them. It may mean a scarf that’s loosely around somebody’s neck is in fact tacked within an inch of its life and snapped to their shoulders. Whatever makes it happen quickly and gets it right,” Chambers said.



Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.