Watch: Time-lapse of Harvest stage and set build

Written by Richard Bean, Harvest is the story of a farming family, the Harrisons, and the challenges they face. The story starts in 1914 and runs to the present day and is set in the kitchen of the family’s East Yorkshire farmhouse. Performed in February, the set design was by third-year Theatre & Performance Design students Evie Jones and Milly Noble. We spoke to them about their design, the inspiration behind it and the challenges they faced.

Evie: We decided very early on that we wanted to create something quite literal, something that was realistic. We studied old farmhouses, particularly ones from Yorkshire, but not just what materials were used and the look of them but also the architecture of them – how they were configured, how they worked in the context of the house.

Milly: The story covers over 100 years, which was a real challenge. We started off with a very basic, stripped back kitchen for 1914 and then for each new era we thought about what we could bring in – a fridge, a new cooker – to show time had moved on. We looked at what was available at the time and what the family could afford. We also introduced new colours on key elements, for example in the 70s the crookery featured bright floral designs.

Evie: After the costume parade I looked at our scale model of the set and the finished set and I was taken aback. They looked so a liked. 

Milly: I feel we achieved exactly what we wanted, it felt like you were in a farmhouse, it felt real.

L-to-r: Harvest model box, a scale model used to communicate design ideas and concept with company, alongside the finished set.

Find out more about Theatre & Performance Design

 

Harvest

Creative team

Director - David Salter

Set Designer - Evie Jones, Milly Noble

Costume Designer - Grace Roberts

Costume Supervisor - Kat Raffle 

Lighting Designer - Aideen McGaharan

Associate Lighting Designer - Ethan Kolb

Sound Designer - Megan Hutchinson

Sound Composer - Maia Rowan 

Intimacy and Voice Director - Gary Horner

Fight Director - Paul Doyle

Movement Director - Lisa-Marie Albes

Accent Director - Rosemary Berkon

 

Production team

Stage Manager - Jess Crabtree

Deputy Stage Manager - Hugh Patten

Assistant Stage Managers - Olivia Herr, Issy Kennard, Isabel Jones, Eve Wilkinson

Chief Electrician - Leon Sutliffe

Deputy Chief Electrician - Alex Jones

LX Programmer and Operator - Hannah Whitworth

Lighting Technicians - Joe Bain, Lou Edwards, Wyatt Schofield

Scenic Set Construction Technicians - Caz Davies, Victoria Sales

Assistant Flys - Reece Wood

Sound No.1 - Amelia Hope

Sound No. 2 - Luca Ruzzene

Production Sound Engineer - Finlay Calvey

Wigs, Hair & Make Up Support - Lola Garlick