Costume drama

PAULINE Rourke says it before I do and saves my embarrassment. The costume store at York Theatre Royal is indeed an Aladdin’s cave – and people are forever telling her that, she says.

I decide not to add to the total, no matter how true it is. But there is a costume drama at the theatre that’s all to do with the sifting through the thousands of costumes for hire and putting some up for sale.

The doors of the Walmgate rehearsal rooms will be thrown open on February 18 and the public is invited to come and buy at a massive costume sale.

“The new cow is lovely and I wouldn’t want to sell it. But I have an old cow upstairs...” says Rourke, illustrating the wide range of things up for sale.

The 2010/11 panto cow is safe but an earlier model will, like the cow in Jack and the Beanstalk, be taken to market and sold.

Animals are part of the sale, from a goose head-shaped hat to seven dwarf penguins (headless at the moment). Someone could cut out the gym and improve their physique by donning a rather splendid Popeye outfit, complete with bulging muscles. Panto regular Martin Barrass wore it, although his 30in waist means you’ll have to be a thin spinach-muched to squeeze into it.

A blue Fifties flared skirt, decorated with poodles, is one of the originals on sale, but the 18in waist may restrict it to super-slim supermodels.

The sale is dictated partly by a move to new premises as the Theatre Royal quits its Walmgate rehearsal rooms and costume hire store takes up residence in the historic De Grey Rooms next door to the theatre.

The 1841 building has been restored to its former glory and will house the theatre’s education and stage mangement teams and, from next month, be used as a rehearsal space for productions. The space will also serve for youth theatre work, educational and outreach workshops and the ballroom will be open once again to host dancing nights.

It’s an exciting development for the theatre, but the move is a bit of a sad one for Rourke who’s been supervising costume hire for 16 years. She gets a bit tearful at the thought of losing costumes which she’s seen made, worn and then give enjoyment to hirers.

She’s still sorting out what exactly will end up on sale, although there are plenty of interesting items already hanging on the rails in the rehearsal room.

Many pantomime costumes are up for sale, including Dame Berwick Kaler’s snow dome dress that cost about £1,000 to make in materials and labour. Its construction means it can’t be put on a hanger and into a wardrobe. It demands a mannequin all of its own.

Costumes worn by young dancers, one of panto villain David Leonard’s black coats and black suits from Opera North that are beautifully made but intended for large bass baritones.

The store itself on the top floor of the building is catalogued to make it easy for the public to choose what they want to hire, with costumes bunched in groups – such as principal boys, David Leonard, the Dame – rather than keep everything from each show together.

Period outfits are split into decades as are men’s suits, breeches, period shirts, doublet and hose. “It looks chaotic but it’s not,” says Rourke.

With less space at the new store, a clear-out is necessary. And once in residence she thinks the new space will dictate a rethink about how they display items.

For the moment, there is a tower of hats of all shapes and sizes – from pink hen night cowboy hats to a soldier’s busby (which could double up as a highly efficient foot warmer, if you ask me) – and boxes of shoes of all sizes and descriptions.

Berwick Kaler never wears the same panto frock twice – apart from his trademark Queen Victoria outfit – so there are fancy dress opportunities galore.

His “booby dress” (you’ll understand the name once you see it) is an intricately made patchwork of material, while his Sunday dinner dress (all over-sizes vegetables and mashed potato) looks a little the worse for wear after being used in a gunge scene in another North-East pantomime.

There are green bug costumes (“great for kids just for dressing up”), white PVC outfits, a jacket with the most enormous puff sleeves in a patterned fabric resembling William Morris wallpaper (from Charley’s Aunt) and even a Hunchback, of Notre Dame fame, that would make an unusual shoulder accessory.

Most of the clothes have been made specially for a show, although smart maternity wear bought for Up the Duff is up for grabs.

Costumes on the maintenance rail are being sold as seen. Most need minor repairs, like a button sewing on or hem mended. Damaged but repairable says the label.

One yardstick is if a costume hasn’t been hired out for five years, then sell it. Rourke is happy to get rid of multiples of costumes. Some has been recycled, some will go to charity shops. Their stocks are frequently replenished by families cleaning attics and giving unwanted clothes to theatre.

The sale will feature “lots of little things” including handbags, aprons, gloves, scarves, shawls, and – wait for it – long johns (washed, I hope). Silk flags, unused fabrics, wigs (“some might need TLC but acrylic is easy to get back to a normal state”) and even a prototype, complete with tail, for Ratty’s costume in last summer’s Wind in the Willows.

A dress worn by the Snow Queen is on the for sale rail too.

“I’m not doing previews or trade days. It starts when we open the doors and hopefully ends up being a jolly good day and quite good fun,” she says.

“Last time we had a girl queuing up from six in the morning because there was this one dress she wanted. There will be a complete mixture of people who come – the public, costumiers, other hire companies and those who want a piece of theatre history.”

Items will be price individually at what she reckons is a fair price but “haggling can happen”, she says.

􀁧 The costume hire closes at Walmgate on February 12 and reopens in the De Grey Rooms on March 5. Contact 01904-715444 or email costumehire@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk The costume sale is at the Walmgate premises from 10am on Saturday, February 19.