Role: Set and Costume Designer
Production: Mandrake
Type: Theatre
Location: Brockley Jack, London, UK
Description: “Mandrake – Machiavelli’s greatest sex farce. It’s about marriage, lust, adultery, corruption and deceit – all aided by the Mandrake Infusion. Machiavelli’s comedy is one of the landmarks of the Italian Renaissance – it marks the break with Medieval drama and is the forerunner of Shakespeare’s comedies.
It played to packed houses in the Florence of the Medici; in Venice it was so popular that the audience overwhelmed the stage and made it impossible to complete; and in the Vatican it made Leo X and his cardinals delirious with delight over the play’s scenes of clerical corruption. And it has remained popular ever since.”
Reviews:
“Kemey Lafond’s set design lends itself to the farcical nature of the play as the characters move through beautifully decorated partition screens”. UK Theatre Network
‘Using Kemey Lafond’s set of moving panels, director Scott Le Crass keeps the pace up in this production but doesn’t sacrifice clarity and the little touches like French accordion music to accompany Callimaco’s ‘Allo ‘Allo–style disguise (sound designer Neil McKeown) and the false nose disguises are a treat”. British Theatre Guide
“Plaudits are also due to Kemey LaFond for the simple yet effective set design that she has brought to Mandrake. I’m always amazed by the creativity that goes into the creation of sets on these tiny off-West End stages. For Mandrake she has devised a series of black and white painted screens which are moved forwards, backwards and rotated to simulate a multi-layered street scene or the expansive interior of a cathedral – it’s very well executed”. Londoneer
“Resourceful set design was the epitome of doing-a-lot-with-a-little (and to great effect!)”. Tikichris
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