Elizabeth Montgomery Wilmot
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Montgomery Wilmot (18 February 1902 – 17 May 1993) was an English award winning theatre and opera costume and scenic designer.
, Oxfordshire, where her father, William Montgomery, was a curate. By the time she was three, the family had moved to Cambridge
, where her father lectured in theology at St John's College
. She showed an early talent for art, and attended art classes in Cambridge from the age of six. After the family moved to London, she continued her studies at Westminster Art School, and had a painting exhibited in the Royal Academy summer exhibition
. At the end of the 1920s she was a student at the Chelsea Illustrators Art School, where she met the sisters Sophie Harris
and Margaret Harris
. Together the three formed a theatre design partnership known as Motley Theatre Design Group
. The first full-scale production on which they worked was Romeo and Juliet
for the Oxford University Dramatic Society
(OUDS), John Gielgud
's début as a director. The great success of this led to an invitation from Gielgud to design Gordon Daviot's Richard of Bordeaux, which opened at the New Theatre
in St Martins Lane, London, in February 1933. The production was a huge success, achieving cult status, with playgoers queuing round the block every night. It is widely recognised that the success was partly owing to the Motley sets and costumes, which captured the essence of the period in an artistic rather than a slavishly historical sense, and were much admired for their beauty and lightness. This early recognition led to a busy and highly successful decade during which they became Gielgud's regular collaborators, working with him on such productions as his celebrated Romeo and Juliet (1935), in which he alternated the parts of Romeo
and Mercutio
with Laurence Olivier
,and his Hamlet
of 1936. They also formed a partnership with the celebrated French director Michel Saint-Denis
, whose production of André Obey
's Noah, starring Gielgud in the title role, they designed in 1935. Saint Denis went on to found The London Theatre Studio (1936–1939), a radical new theatre school which incorporated courses in theatre design taught by the Motleys. This was the first time theatre design had been taught within a drama school in the UK. In addition to their teaching and theatre work, the Motleys also opened a couture house in 1936.
At the beginning of World War II
, Margaret Harris and Elizabeth Montgomery travelled to the USA to design a production of Romeo and Juliet for Laurence Olivier. They stayed in America until the end of the war, designing numerous successful productions on Broadway
. When Margaret Harris returned to England in 1946, Elizabeth stayed in New York
, where she married the writer and journalist Patrick Wilmot (1904–1960). Their son John was born in 1949. Elizabeth remained in New York until 1966, designing numerous successful plays, musicals, operas and ballets.
Biography
Montgomery was born in KidlingtonKidlington
Kidlington is a large village and civil parish between the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and southwest of Bicester.-History:...
, Oxfordshire, where her father, William Montgomery, was a curate. By the time she was three, the family had moved to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, where her father lectured in theology at St John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
. She showed an early talent for art, and attended art classes in Cambridge from the age of six. After the family moved to London, she continued her studies at Westminster Art School, and had a painting exhibited in the Royal Academy summer exhibition
Royal Academy summer exhibition
The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the summer months of June, July, and August...
. At the end of the 1920s she was a student at the Chelsea Illustrators Art School, where she met the sisters Sophie Harris
Sophie Harris
Audrey Sophia “Sophie” Harris was an English award winning theatre and opera costume and scenic designer.-Biography:...
and Margaret Harris
Margaret Harris
Margaret Frances Harris was an English theatre and opera costume and scenic designer.-Early years:Harris was born in Hayes, Kent, the fourth child and second daughter of William Birkbeck Harris, a Lloyds Insurance clerk, and his wife Kathleen Marion, née Carey...
. Together the three formed a theatre design partnership known as Motley Theatre Design Group
Motley Theatre Design Group
Motley was the name of the theatre design firm made up of three English designers, sisters Margaret Harris and Sophie Harris , and Elizabeth Montgomery Wilmot . The name derives from the word 'Motley' as used by Shakespeare...
. The first full-scale production on which they worked was Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
for the Oxford University Dramatic Society
Oxford University Dramatic Society
The Oxford University Dramatic Society is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England...
(OUDS), John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
's début as a director. The great success of this led to an invitation from Gielgud to design Gordon Daviot's Richard of Bordeaux, which opened at the New Theatre
Noël Coward Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...
in St Martins Lane, London, in February 1933. The production was a huge success, achieving cult status, with playgoers queuing round the block every night. It is widely recognised that the success was partly owing to the Motley sets and costumes, which captured the essence of the period in an artistic rather than a slavishly historical sense, and were much admired for their beauty and lightness. This early recognition led to a busy and highly successful decade during which they became Gielgud's regular collaborators, working with him on such productions as his celebrated Romeo and Juliet (1935), in which he alternated the parts of Romeo
Romeo Montague
Romeo is one of the fictional protagonists in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is the son of old Montague and his wife, who secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet...
and Mercutio
Mercutio
Mercutio a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. He is a close friend of Romeo, and Romeo's cousin Benvolio, and also a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, being neither a Montague nor a Capulet, Mercutio is one of the few in Verona...
with Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
,and his Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
of 1936. They also formed a partnership with the celebrated French director Michel Saint-Denis
Michel Saint-Denis
Michel Saint-Denis , dit Jacques Duchesne, was a French actor, theater director, and drama theorist whose ideas on actor training have had a profound influence on the development of European theater from the 1930s on.Michel Saint-Denis was born in Beauvais, France, the nephew of Jacques Copeau, who...
, whose production of André Obey
André Obey
André Obey was a prominent French playwright during the inter-war years, and into the 1950s....
's Noah, starring Gielgud in the title role, they designed in 1935. Saint Denis went on to found The London Theatre Studio (1936–1939), a radical new theatre school which incorporated courses in theatre design taught by the Motleys. This was the first time theatre design had been taught within a drama school in the UK. In addition to their teaching and theatre work, the Motleys also opened a couture house in 1936.
At the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Margaret Harris and Elizabeth Montgomery travelled to the USA to design a production of Romeo and Juliet for Laurence Olivier. They stayed in America until the end of the war, designing numerous successful productions on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. When Margaret Harris returned to England in 1946, Elizabeth stayed in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where she married the writer and journalist Patrick Wilmot (1904–1960). Their son John was born in 1949. Elizabeth remained in New York until 1966, designing numerous successful plays, musicals, operas and ballets.