Abstract

Michael Pinchbeck's Bolero is featured in Make Believe - UK Design for Performance 2011 - 2015. Designed by Sarah Lewis, the Bolero set is described as a 'simple space with an ever evolving (or devolving) wall that the performers would transform'. Make/Believe is a full colour, fully illustrated celebration of design for performance by over 150 UK designers between 2011-2015. The title Make/Believe indicates the skills, vision and commitment found in the diversity of contemporary performance design and the ravishing visuals that make UK designers sought after worldwide.

Make/Believe : UK Design for Performance 2011 – 2015 is the latest full colour catalogue that accompanies the new national exhibition of the same name that toured to various venues including Nottingham Trent University and the V&A. Including designers’ commentaries on their work, as well as drawings and photographs of designs, productions and spaces, SBTD catalogues are the only comprehensive record of performance design in the UK and are valued nationally and internationally because of the esteem in which our designers are held around the world. As well as the insight they give into the thinking and processes of contemporary UK designers and their collaborators, they provide a chronology of many designers’ careers and bodies of work.

At the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design they are considered a best seller and are used for reference in theatres and university theatre departments worldwide. Make/Believe includes work by lighting designers and a CD-ROM by the Association of Sound Designers in the book cover, short essays and commentaries by performance designers and their collaborators, along with biographies and indexes. It is an invaluable and accessible resource for students, teachers and anyone interested in contemporary performance.