Other work includes Terry Gilliam’s BENVENUTO CELLINI for ENO; David Bintley’s PRINCE OF PAGODAS for Birmingham Royal Ballet: UK tour and New National Theatre Tokyo; THE BEAR (Improbable Theatre); SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH directed by Marianne Elliot at The Old Vic; THE RITE OF SPRING and PETRUSHKA for Fabulous Beast; Wagner’s RING CYCLE directed by Sir David McVicar (Grand Prix for Outstanding Achievement in Opera) at Opéra du Rhin, Strasbourg; Du Maurier’s THE BIRDS adapted and directed by Conor McPherson for the Gate Theatre Dublin.
For Complicité her designs include THE VISIT, THE STREET OF CROCODILES (also National Theatre and West End), WISEGUY SCAPINO, HELP I’M ALIVE and AVE MARIA.
For the Royal Shakespeare Company her productions include AS YOU LIKE IT, PEDRO THE GREAT PRETENDER (also West End), CYMBELINE, THE PHOENICIAN WOMEN, HENRY IV and MYSTERIA – which she wrote, directed and designed.
For the Royal Court, Rae has designed three plays by Conor McPherson: SHINING CITY (also Dublin), DUBLIN CAROL; and THE WEIR which enjoyed huge success in the West End and on Broadway as well as on tour worldwide. Other Royal Court productions include FACES IN THE CROWD, CRAZY BLACK MOTHERFUCKING SELF, PRESENCE, SOME VOICES and TRUST.
Her collaboration with Neil Bartlett at the Lyric Hammersmith has produced OLIVER TWIST (also with American Repertory Theater in Harvard, New York and San Francisco, winner of OBIE Award), THE SERVANT; THE WHITE DEVIL, PINOCCHIO, CAUSE CELEBRE, SARASINE, MRS WARREN’S PROFESSION, A CHRISTMAS CAROL and THE LETTER. She designed Marlowe’s DIDO, QUEEN OF CARTHAGE for Neil Bartlett at the American Rep Theatre, and AN IDEAL HUSBAND at the Abbey Dublin in (Best Costume Designer, Irish Times Award).
Other British productions include JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK (and New York) and ENDGAME (Donmar Warehouse); THE COCKTAIL PARTY and A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS’S DREAM (Edinburgh Lyceum); CYRANO, SHERLOCK HOLMES IN TROUBLE, PORT, WAY OF THE WORLD and CHARLEY’S AUNT (Manchester Royal Exchange); GHORMENGHAST – David Glass Company – for whom she also wrote, directed and designed LUCKY; THE EUROPEANS (The Wrestling School).
Abroad, Rae Smith worked throughout former Yugoslavia on devised works including ALICE IN WONDERLAND and SILENCE, SILENCE, SILENCE (Mladinsko Theatre, Slovenia).
Opera and music theatre designs to date include Sondheim’s A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris; THE RITE OF SPRING with Fabulous Beast at the English National Opera; RUSALKA (Glyndebourne); GOTTERDAMMERUNG, SIEGFRIED, DIE WALKÜRE, DAS RHEINGOLD (Opéra National du Rhin, Strasbourg); BIRD OF NIGHT (Royal Opera House, Linbury Theatre); THE RAKE’S PROGRESS (Aldeburgh), A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (La Monnaie, Brussels); SKELLIG (The Sage Gateshead); THE TURN OF THE SCREW (Brighton Festival); DON GIOVANNI (Welsh National Opera); THE MAGIC FLUTE (Scottish Opera, Opera North and Garsington); THE MAIDS (Lyric Hammersmith); TX3 (ENO Studio).
Rae has recently illustrated WAR HORSE AN ILLUSTRATED SPECIAL EDITION by Michael Morpurgo. More info
Rae’s illustrations form the backdrop for the stage production of War Horse and she has performed drawings live with Michael Morpurgo’s readings. She has also performed drawings on an overhead projector as part of a live theatre piece based on FRANKENSTEIN at the National Theatre studio.
Exhibitions of Rae’s art works include THE WARHORSE PANORAMA exhibited at the Lowry, THE HORSE AT WAR at The Light Box, THE ART OF WARHORSE at The Illustration Cupboard, WARHORSE at the V&A, STAGING WAR HORSE and THE WAR HORSE DRAWINGS at the National Theatre; War Horse: Fact or Fiction at the National Army Museum, and WHAT IS DRAWING? at the Centre for Drawing, London. Artist in residence at Wimbledon School of Art, Cove Park and the CCA in Scotland. Artworks can be brought online: www.raesmith.co.uk
