Dressed to thrill

COSTUME HIRE:Charged with dressing the cast for a play, theatre studies student SANDRA FLOODfound great riches in the Abbey Theatre's costume warehouse

DRESSING THE CAST for an amateur production is challenging, especially when it comes to that unpopular b-word – budget. When that cast of 10 must look as if they've stepped out of 1880s Norway for Ibsen's classic play A Doll's House,the task of assembling historically-accurate and visually appealing costumes is all consuming.

However, as part of an MA in Theatre Studies in St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, which I am attending, students have to put theory into practice. So while contemplating the slim pickings in my local charity shops and after an exhaustive trawl through vintage and high-street stores, I heard that the Abbey theatre had opened its extensive wardrobe for hire. In a deceptively ordinary-looking warehouse in Finglas, we discovered the collection packed on to rails and ready for hire.

Open since December 2009, the Abbey’s Costume Hire department contains period and contemporary clothes, distressed/broken down items, military uniforms, ecclesiastical wear and accessories such as bonnets and bum pads – handy for plumping out those Victorian bustles. The period costumes in particular are beautiful and surprisingly weighty. However, as Niamh Lunny, head of costume in the Abbey, explains, the costumes were “made by expert craftspeople in the finest materials”. As working garments they were designed to be durable and withstand night after night of live performances. So they are ideal rental garments and of rare quality.

As the starting place of so many Irish plays and playwrights, the Abbey also has costumes to suit many frequently-performed classics. There is a stock of Irish citizen army and Irish volunteer uniforms to suit productions of O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars,as well as quaint 1930s daywear to dress the Mundy sisters in Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa.

If you get lost in the sartorial labyrinth, experienced costume assistants Saileog O’Halloran and Siofra Ní Chiardha will share their expertise and steer you toward the right era.

The service is aimed at the wider arts community and is an invaluable resource for those working in amateur dramatics, opera, advertising, film, TV and photography. Thankfully, considering the shrinking budgets that most small productions must contend with, it’s an affordable service. Costs range from €5 for a waistcoat, to €40 for a period evening gown. An “appro” week is provided free of charge before the rental week to check fit and suitability, as is a week following the rental period to dry clean and return the costumes.

Ironically, it was budget cuts and restructuring at the Abbey that initiated the development of the Costume Hire facility. Faced with losing staff at its in-house costume department last year, the team put together a business plan for the rental service. According to Niamh Lunny: “Customer feedback is very encouraging; overall we’ve had a great response and we’re open less than a year. It’s keeping money in Ireland that otherwise would have been spent on costume hire abroad.”

Admittedly it’s a process of trial and error, matching your cast with appropriate costumes, because most of the garments were custom-made for the actors/actresses in the original productions. However, this adds novelty value to the process as you can see whose costume you’re wearing from a simple white label sewn into the collar.

Recently, audiences could see Emmy award-winning costume designer Joan Bergin's beautifully-fitted and embellished costumes in Frank McGuinness's version of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman.

Of particular appeal are the fur-trimmed floor-length coats worn by Lindsay Duncan and Cathy Belton, which add to the wintery landscape of the play and convey an aura of wealth and opulence. After the play’s run in New York, all of the costumes will eventually find their way back to the Abbey’s warehouse where they’ll wait to enjoy a second life on stage.

Aspiring professional actors can hire Fiona Shaw’s Victorian gown or Alan Rickman’s velvet-trimmed overcoat and hope that perhaps a little Abbey magic will rub off on them.

A Doll's Houseis at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra tonight. See spd.dcu.ie.

For information on the MA in Theatre Studies, contact Dr Eugene McNulty, English Department, St Patrick’s College, tel: 01-8842301.

The Abbey Costume Hire facility is open Tuesdays, 11am-4pm (by appointment only). Tel: 01-8872219.