New technology has seen the transformation of fashion fabrics during the 1990s - but even the most adventurous designer might balk at the idea of using shower curtains for a dress. Not so Conor Murphy, whose costumes for the Abbey Theatre's new production of Sheridan's The Rivals are made, not from just transparent shower curtain, but from a variety of other unusual plastics as well.
Originally from Omagh, this is the first time Murphy has worked in Dublin. He studied theatre design at the Wimbledon School of Art and since graduation in 1992, has been steadily employed in Britain. His next job is designing the sets and costumes for a new opera in Darmstadt, Germany.
While the set for The Rivals is fairly simple, Murphy's costumes are as youthful and animated as their designer. "There's a bit of a plastic theme going through it all," he confirms. Another consistent feature of the play's clothes is quilting: often the two are combined in a single outfit. For example, Julia (played by Jane Brennan) has an overskirt in the aforementioned shower curtaining, while her dress beneath is in aquamarine quilted shantung silk and the sleeves on her bodice are in a bubble-weave metallic thread of indeterminate origin.
Similarly, a maid's costume has an apron of white plastic covered with bands of black cross-stitching. Beneath this, is a red dress spotted in white, the cotton-based fabric given a rubberised finish. Tiered and ruffled sleeves in pale pink add still further interest.
The costume-shapes throughout are derived from those in fashion around 1775, when the play is set, but Conor Murphy has not allowed himself to be restricted. Looking through his drawings, it is clear he intends to play with period references, not necessarily being guided by them when it does not suit. So, although the costumes are definitely 18th century (at least in outline), accessories such as shoes and hair are late 20th century, with Lucy, for example, teaming her gown with wedge trainers of the kind favoured by the Spice Girls. The Abbey's costume department, meanwhile, is displaying a generous degree of ingenuity in its construction of the costumes. Mrs Malaprop's enormous pannier skirts (black plastic net over silver tissue) are held out straight from the waist by lengths of copper piping concealed beneath the fabric. With whale-bone no longer in plentiful supply, this is an imaginative approach to the problem. Not all costumes, however, have been made from such modern materials. Lydia Languish's overskirt uses row after row of six-inch feathers which are dark brown at her feet and almost white at the waist. In between, they have been dyed (using Dylon cold wash, should anyone wish to try this at home) a series of yellow shades. Above, the boned bodice is also covered in feathers, with a rich, black-striped, yellow lining-silk stitched into ribbed bands used for the sleeves.
The main difference between costumes for men and women is colour. While it abounds among the dresses, the frockcoats, waistcoats and kneebreeches are in black and white only. "It's because of a little psychological thing," Conor Murphy explains. "In this play, the women are clued in and the men are the silly ones; I wanted to make that clear." Therefore, only David, the male servant who might almost be considered a co-conspirator with the women of the piece, is permitted an outburst of colour, courtesy of a red apron with a clear plastic cover. Otherwise, black and white are the norm - although this does not mean a lack of richness. Jack Absolute's coat is of quilted black velvet, his trousers are made from a heavy, off-white corduroy and his waistcoat used black PVC. Later, his overcoat is made from a dense and luscious fake ponyskin. Acres gets a frock-coat in dalmatian-spotted faux fur - the fabric is also used to cover Lydia's sofa - and Sir Anthony Absolute's costume uses quilted silver-thread covered in black organza and black pinstripe velvet.
With quilting currently one of fashion's most popular treatments, some of Murphy's ideas are simultaneously modern and in a form which harks back 200 years. The shower curtaining, however, seems unlikely to be immediately taken up by designers.
The Rivals previews at the Abbey from today, and opens on Wednesday, at 8 p.m.