Nicky Gillibrand
Encyclopedia
Nicky Gillibrand is a theatrical costume design
er who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design
for Billy Elliot the Musical
. She won the Gold Medal for Costume Design at the 2003 Prague Quadrenale
for the Royal Shakespeare Company
's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
Gillibrand has worked on many international productions with such companies as the Royal Opera House
, the Young Vic Theatre, and the Royal National Theatre
in London
, the Bavarian State Opera
in Munich
, and the Paris Opera
. She also designed the costumes for the 2003 revival of Tom Stoppard
's Jumpers
for the West End
and Broadway
and İnstitute Benjamenta
.
Billy Elliott was her first assignment for musical theatre
. "When I first heard that they were going to be doing a musical version of Billy Elliot, I thought that this would be the musical I would like to do," she said, "and it landed right in my lap." One of her sources was a photographer who spent a year documenting a miner's strike in Durham
. "I had some amazing character studies of people, very spot on,” she says. “What it brought home was how old fashioned it was up there, because I'm from the north of England as well. It was quite interesting to look at real stuff and it was a hard brief for myself, because they're real clothes and not particularly theatrical enough." She welcomed the opportunity to design for chorus members who were not typical characters in musicals, and liked working with the vibrant colors of the era. "What we wear nowadays is far more muted than what was available then," she said. "I really enjoyed putting a terrible sweater onstage. You look at it and you know it's dead right, no matter how awful it is."
Costume design
Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
er who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design
Tony Award for Best Costume Design
These are the winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design. The award was first presented in 1947 and included both plays and musicals...
for Billy Elliot the Musical
Billy Elliot the Musical
Billy Elliot the Musical is a musical based on the 2000 film Billy Elliot. The music is by Sir Elton John, and book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around motherless Billy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes...
. She won the Gold Medal for Costume Design at the 2003 Prague Quadrenale
Prague Quadrennial
Held in Prague once every fourth years since 1967, the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space or Prague Quadrennial is the world's largest event in the field of scenography, consisting of a competitive presentation of contemporary work in a variety of performance design disciplines and...
for the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
Gillibrand has worked on many international productions with such companies as the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, the Young Vic Theatre, and the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, and the Paris Opera
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
. She also designed the costumes for the 2003 revival of Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's Jumpers
Jumpers
Jumpers is a 1972 play by Tom Stoppard. It explores and satirises the field of academic philosophy, likening it to a less-than skilful competitive gymnastics display...
for the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and 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...
and İnstitute Benjamenta
Institute Benjamenta
Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life, released in 1996, was the first feature-length film by the Brothers Quay. It is based on Jakob von Gunten, a novel written by Robert Walser...
.
Billy Elliott was her first assignment for musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
. "When I first heard that they were going to be doing a musical version of Billy Elliot, I thought that this would be the musical I would like to do," she said, "and it landed right in my lap." One of her sources was a photographer who spent a year documenting a miner's strike in Durham
UK miners' strike (1984–1985)
The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trades union movement...
. "I had some amazing character studies of people, very spot on,” she says. “What it brought home was how old fashioned it was up there, because I'm from the north of England as well. It was quite interesting to look at real stuff and it was a hard brief for myself, because they're real clothes and not particularly theatrical enough." She welcomed the opportunity to design for chorus members who were not typical characters in musicals, and liked working with the vibrant colors of the era. "What we wear nowadays is far more muted than what was available then," she said. "I really enjoyed putting a terrible sweater onstage. You look at it and you know it's dead right, no matter how awful it is."