Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Birmingham-based Stan’s Café will premiere its latest show Made Up at the city’s REP theatre.
Set in a Winnebago on a film set, Made Up is a collaboration between Stan’s Café and make-up artist Andrew Whiteoak. It reveals the “surprising and moving relationship between a young actress and her make-up artist”.
Stan’s Café artistic director James Yarker said, “a few years ago a student asked for a work experience placement in our make-up department. This request seemed ludicrous. Not only did we not have such a department but in 20-plus years of making shows we’d never once employed a make-up artist. But this request set us thinking: what show would we make if we worked with a make-up artist? The answer is Made Up.”
Andrew Whiteoak added, “when I was approached by Stan’s Café to collaborate on Made Up I was intrigued and excited by how ‘live’ make-up applications could work within a story. My task is to design make-up and effects that can be applied fluidly around dialogue, which is a particular challenge in itself.
“Having worked in theatre, film and television for more than 22 years, I think it’s nice to be able to reflect, analyse and inform about the trusted relationship an actor and a make-up artist have and filter this into a beautiful piece of theatre.”
Yarker, Whiteoak and performers Emily Holyoake and Alexis Tuttle have worked together to devise this production. It is told through a sequence of live make-up transformations. Conversations with groups of women to find out about their relationship with make-up and what it means to them have influenced the play.
Design is by Harry Trow, lighting design by Simon Bond, video by Oliver Clark, music and sound by Nina West, costume by Kay Wilton and additional text by Craig Stephens.
Made Up runs in The Door at Birmingham REP from Saturday 14 until Saturday 21 May (press night Tuesday 17 May).