Pop Off, Michelangelo!

Costume Design

Danny Khan Photography

Underbelly Boulevard Soho / Edinburgh Underbelly Cow

Directed by Joe McNeice

Lighting by Adam King

Projection design by PJ McEvoy

REVIEWS

Musical Theatre Review

"Bestow’s thoughtful and prolific costume design is inspired also, nailing the Renaissance-camp tone perfectly."

Lisa In the Theatre

"The cast sashay their way around the stage in a flurry of delightful, colourful costumes by Emily Bestow playing everyone from Italian peasants to Princes."

1883 Magazine

"The visuals are just as strong, and the costumes – designed by Emily Bestow – deserve a special mention... and the costumes throughout add an extra layer of humour and visual flair to every scene."

AJH Loves Theatre

"Emily Bestow’s detailed, joyfully anachronistic costumes and Adam King’s colourful lighting are pretty much perfect."

WhatsOnStage

"The costumes (Bestow) are also absurdly well thought out, imagine someone introducing Temu to a queer art historian... the results are elevated chaos with impeccable flair. "

ABOUT THE DESIGN

The Pope - a bit of a ‘lad’ Vatican City Football t-shirt, trackies and a brimless cap, but all as ostentatious as possible, much like the pope’s desire for the grandest ceiling. “Stay Lit - Matthew 5:14” - on the back Largely inspired by looks from the 2018 Met Gala

Savonarola -
Inspired by the straight pride flag (who knew that was a thing!) of black and white stripes with male/female symbols. Black and white therefore felt like the perfect opposite to the pink and blue colourful world that Savonarola hates. I added cape sleeves for extra dramatic flair, and crosses on the shoulders to look like Savonarola was overdoing it a bit in the obsession with being the best Catholic. I also took inspiration from the Alexander McQueen pre fall 2013 collection.

Michelangelo -
Working with the colour scheme used in the branding and set design, I wanted Michelangelo to look artistic and always ready to create. I found some vintage French workman’s trousers which were perfect! Some embroidery details were then added for customisation, as if Michelangelo embellished everything around him with his own personal artistic flair when a creative moment struck. Michelangelo also wears a gold bracelet with the creation of Adam on it as an extra little detail.

Leonardo -
In his notebooks, Leonardo listed an inventory of his clothing which included pink tights. I took this as inspiration for Leonardo wearing predominantly pink, to compliment Michelangelo’s predominantly blue costume. I wanted the pair to go together as ‘brothers’, so both feature each other’s main colour as their secondary colour. Leonardo has a bag for his notebook with pins featuring things he invented, periodic table elements, paintbrushes, and if you look very closely a teenage mutant ninja turtles reference! He also wears a tie with patterns of his drawings tied as a bow as the real Leonardo was known for his unconventional habits.