Sean Kenny (theatre designer)
Encyclopedia
Sean Kenny was an Irish
theatre and film scenic designer, costume designer, lighting designer and director.
Tony Award
For each production Sean invented what he called a frame, as in framework or scaffold or skeleton. For productions with small budgets the frame would be stationary and for productions with large budgets the frame would be dynamic, moving. In Oliver! the frame consisted of multi-level scaffolding built on a rotating turntable and two rotating side wagons, properly called ring fragments, that followed the curve of the turntable. In Pickwick the frame was four multi-level scaffolds on wagons that could move in any direction, like four rolling houses. For Blitz! the frame was four multi-level scaffolds on rolling wagons and two towers that rolled up and down stage connected by a bridge that raised and lowered while the towers were moving. In each production this frame provided the different spaces, entrances, levels and playing areas needed by the script and by the action. Sean's complex and dynamic frames afforded the director a neverending resource for staging the action and provided the audience with neverending excitement.
Sean then added what he called symbols to each scene to depict a specific place, always three symbols for each scene. He felt two symbols would be weak and would waste an opportunity to communicate with the audience, and he felt four or more would be redundant and wasteful. For the undertaker scene in Oliver! the symbols were, 1) a shopkeeper's counter, 2) an undertaker's shop sign, and 3) coffins that flew in from above, making an audible impression on the audience. For the tavern scene in Oliver! the symbols were, 1) a tavern table with tankards and benches, 2) a large oil lamp with a large metal shade that flew in from above, and 3) more scenic effect smoke than anyone had seen previously in one place at one time. The tavern scene was the second act opener and the smoke machine ran during the whole intermission to create a wall of thick smoke that made an audible impression on the audience as the curtain rose. Sean picked symbols of immense theatrical power and delight.
, a standup satire and jazz club in London founded by Peter Cook
and Nicholas Luard
.
Argo, 1962
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
theatre and film scenic designer, costume designer, lighting designer and director.
Projects
This list is incomplete:- 1957 The Shadow of a GunmanThe Shadow of a GunmanThe Shadow of a Gunman is a 1923 play by Seán O'Casey. It centers on the mistaken identity of a building tenant who is thought to be an IRA assassin....
(revival) - 1958 The Hostage (play)The Hostage (play)The Hostage is a loose 1958 English version, with songs, adapted in a much longer text from a one-act Irish language play An Giall, by its author, Brendan Behan.-Plot:...
(première Joan LittlewoodJoan LittlewoodJoan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
's Theatre WorkshopTheatre WorkshopTheatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
at the Theatre Royal Stratford EastTheatre Royal Stratford EastThe Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
) - 1959 Cock-a-Doodle DandyCock-a-Doodle DandyCock-a-Doodle Dandy is a 1949 play by Irish dramatist Seán O'Casey.Regarded by O'Casey as his best play, this is a darkly comic fantasy in which a magic cockerel appears in the parish of Nyadnanave and forces the characters to make choices about the way they live their lives. It is a parable of...
(Royal Court Theatre) - 1959 Mermaid TheatreMermaid TheatreThe Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
(Art Director) - 1959 Lock Up Your DaughtersLock Up Your DaughtersLock Up Your Daughters is a musical based on an 18th century comedy, Rape Upon Rape, by Henry Fielding and adapted by Bernard Miles. The lyrics were written by Lionel Bart and the music by Laurie Johnson...
(Mermaid TheatreMermaid TheatreThe Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
) - 1960 The Lily-White Boys
- 1960 Oliver!Oliver!Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
(scenic design, costume design) - 1960 Riders to the Sea (BBC film)
- 1961 Romeo and Juliet (Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe 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...
, Royal Shakespeare TheatreRoyal Shakespeare TheatreThe Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon...
- Stratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
) - 1961 The Devils (play)The Devils (play)The Devils is a play, commissioned by Sir Peter Hall for the Royal Shakespeare Company and written by British dramatist John Whiting, based on Aldous Huxley's factual historical novel, The Devils of Loudun.-Performance:...
(première, Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe 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...
, Aldwych TheatreAldwych TheatreThe Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
, London) - 1961 Altona (Jean-Paul SartreJean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
) (Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court TheatreThe Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
) - 1961 Stop the World – I Want to Get Off
- 1962 I Thank a Fool
- 1962 King PriamKing PriamKing Priam is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's Iliad, except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are taken from the Fabulae of Hyginus.The premiere was on 29 May 1962, at Coventry...
(scenic and costume design, Covent Garden Opera Company, Royal Opera, LondonRoyal Opera, LondonThe Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
) - 1962 Blitz!Blitz!Blitz! is a musical by Lionel Bart. The play, described by Steven Suskin as "massive", was set in the East End of London during the Blitz...
- 1962 Uncle Vanya (Chichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
with Michael RedgraveMichael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
and Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence 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...
) - 1962 I Thank a Fool (film)
- 1963 The Beggar's Opera (Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe 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...
, Aldwych TheatreAldwych TheatreThe Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
, London) - 1963 Pickwick (musical)Pickwick (musical)Pickwick is a musical with a book by Wolf Mankowitz, music by Cyril Ornadel, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Based on The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, it is set in and around London and Rochester in 1828....
- 1963 Uncle Vanya (film with Michael RedgraveMichael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
and Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence 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...
) - 1963 The Old VicOld VicThe Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
renovations for the Royal National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company... - 1963 Hamlet (at the Old VicOld VicThe Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
for the Royal National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
) - 1965 Maggie May (musical)Maggie May (musical)Maggie May is a musical with a book by Alun Owen and music and lyrics by Lionel Bart.Based on "Maggie May", a traditional ballad about a Liverpool prostitute, it deals with trade union ethics and disputes and the life of streetwalker Margaret Mary Duffy after her sweetheart dies.The show includes...
- 1965 The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd
- 1965-1966 Casino de Paris, (Dunes (hotel and casino)Dunes (hotel and casino)The Dunes Hotel was a Paradise, Nevada, hotel and casino that operated from May 23, 1955 to January 26, 1993, and was the tenth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The Bellagio now stands on the former grounds.-History:...
, Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
) - 1966 Stop the World – I Want to Get Off (film)
- 1966 Der fliegende Holländer (scenic and costume design, Covent Garden Opera Company, Royal Opera, LondonRoyal Opera, LondonThe Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
) - 1967 Historical Section of the British Pavilion, Expo 67Expo 67The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
, MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - 1967 The Gyrotron (1967-1981 La Ronde (amusement park)La Ronde (amusement park)La Ronde is an amusement park in Montreal, owned and operated by Six Flags. It is the largest in the province of Quebec and the second largest in Canada after Canada's Wonderland, with about 2.5 million guests in 2006...
, Expo 67Expo 67The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
, MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) - 1968 Gulliver's Travels (Mermaid TheatreMermaid TheatreThe Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
, author, producer, scenic design, director) - 1969 Les Noces (Royal Swedish BalletRoyal Swedish BalletThe Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian dominance in this field; he also founded the Royal Swedish Opera and the...
for Jerome RobbinsJerome RobbinsJerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
) - 1969 Gardner Arts Centre - University of Sussex
- 1970 Peer Gynt (Chichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
) - 1970 Here are Ladies (Siobhán McKennaSiobhán McKennaSiobhán McKenna was an Irish stage and screen actress.-Background:Born Siobhán Giollamhuire Nic Cionnaith in Belfast, Northern Ireland into a Catholic and nationalist family, she grew up in Galway City and in County Monaghan, Ireland speaking fluent Irish...
one woman show) - 1972 Clownaround (scenic, costume and lighting design for Gene KellyGene KellyEugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
) - 1973 The King of Friday's Men (Abbey TheatreAbbey TheatreThe Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...
, Dublin) - 1973 Juno and the PaycockJuno and the PaycockJuno and the Paycock is a play by Sean O'Casey, and one of the most highly regarded and oft-performed plays in Ireland. It was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924...
(Mermaid TheatreMermaid TheatreThe Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
) (scenic design, director) - 1973 New London TheatreNew London TheatreThe New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
inspired by the Total Theater designed by architect Walter GropiusWalter GropiusWalter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
for director Erwin PiscatorErwin PiscatorErwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator was a German theatre director and producer and, with Bertolt Brecht, the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content of drama, rather than its emotional manipulation of the audience or on the production's formal...
Awards
American Theatre WingAmerican Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
- 1963 Winner, Best Scenic Designer, Oliver!Oliver!Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
- 1965 Nomination, Best Scenic Designer, The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd
Uncompleted projects
- Portable theaters for the armed services
- Portable theaters for Eisteddfods
- An undersea aquarium in the Bahamas
Design style
Sean collaborated with the author and director to make the scenery contribute so significantly to the production that the scenery rose to the status of being a character in the play, for example Cameron Mackintosh wrote, "A lot of the original 1960 production had been written during rehearsal to accompany the working of Sean Kenny's set (Oliver! has an episodic story that requires quick and varied changes of locale)..."For each production Sean invented what he called a frame, as in framework or scaffold or skeleton. For productions with small budgets the frame would be stationary and for productions with large budgets the frame would be dynamic, moving. In Oliver! the frame consisted of multi-level scaffolding built on a rotating turntable and two rotating side wagons, properly called ring fragments, that followed the curve of the turntable. In Pickwick the frame was four multi-level scaffolds on wagons that could move in any direction, like four rolling houses. For Blitz! the frame was four multi-level scaffolds on rolling wagons and two towers that rolled up and down stage connected by a bridge that raised and lowered while the towers were moving. In each production this frame provided the different spaces, entrances, levels and playing areas needed by the script and by the action. Sean's complex and dynamic frames afforded the director a neverending resource for staging the action and provided the audience with neverending excitement.
Sean then added what he called symbols to each scene to depict a specific place, always three symbols for each scene. He felt two symbols would be weak and would waste an opportunity to communicate with the audience, and he felt four or more would be redundant and wasteful. For the undertaker scene in Oliver! the symbols were, 1) a shopkeeper's counter, 2) an undertaker's shop sign, and 3) coffins that flew in from above, making an audible impression on the audience. For the tavern scene in Oliver! the symbols were, 1) a tavern table with tankards and benches, 2) a large oil lamp with a large metal shade that flew in from above, and 3) more scenic effect smoke than anyone had seen previously in one place at one time. The tavern scene was the second act opener and the smoke machine ran during the whole intermission to create a wall of thick smoke that made an audible impression on the audience as the curtain rose. Sean picked symbols of immense theatrical power and delight.
Ituna
To get to the US to study at Taliesin with Frank Lloyd Wright, in 1950 Sean sailed from Ireland to New York in Ituna, a 36' sailboat, with Kevin O'Farrell, Tony Jacob, and Desmond Dalton. This caused some excitement and is an example of Sean's lifelong knack for inspiring legends. and (About two Sean Kennys, see the third paragraph.)The Establishment
Sean was a contributor to The Establishment (club)The Establishment (club)
The Establishment was a London nightclub which opened in October 1961, at 18 Greek Street, Soho and was famous in retrospect for satire although actually more notable at the time for jazz and other events. It was founded by Peter Cook and Nicholas Luard, both of whom were also important in the...
, a standup satire and jazz club in London founded by Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
and Nicholas Luard
Nicholas Luard
Nicholas Lamert Luard was a writer and politician, but is perhaps best known for his activities in the early 1960s: co-founding The Establishment with Peter Cook and being one of the Lords Gnome of Private Eye....
.
External links
- http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw58330/Sean-Kenny 1963 photograph of Sean Kenny in his office on Manette Street in London, held in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
- http://podcasts.resonancefm.com/archives/6312/ MP3 audio file interviews with Noël Coward, Albert Finney, Peter Hall, Sean Kenny, Siobhan McKenna, Harold Pinter, Sybil Thorndike, Kenneth Tynan, Peter Ustinov.
Argo, 1962
- http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=15296 Internet Broadway Database Sean Kenny page.
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3805208 http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3805205 Images of the Sean Kenny design for Oliver! at the National Library of Australia.