Set Design
Sisters
by Rosamund Small
Directed by Peter Pasyk
Set Design by Michelle Tracey
Costume Design by Erika Connor
Lighting Design by Kimberly Purtell
Sound Design by Richard Feren
Production Photography by Cylla von Tiedmann
Soulpepper Theatre
2018
“ The production has a lyrical, dreamlike feel. Seeing Michelle Tracey’s set design is like peering into a music box, and she inventively sets apart the scenes in Ramy’s shop. No item on the stage is superfluous, which makes the removal of each piece of furniture near the end even more poignant”
- Debbie Fein-Goldbach
https://nowtoronto.com/stage/theatre/sisters-soulpepper-rosamund-small/
“ Pasyk’s direction is graceful and often visually poetic, his talent manifest in several powerful stage images. He’s helped by Michelle Tracey’s spare set, a raked stage in a utilitarian-looking frame, which serves as Ann (Laura Condlln) and Evelina’s (Nicole Power) claustrophobic shop. The sisters’ lives are changed by the arrival of a German clockmaker, Herman Ramy (Kevin Bundy), who sells Ann a small clock. Ramy’s lodgings are creatively designed: They exist above the raked platform in a compartment that opens and closes like a peep show…
Pasyk advances the narrative through elegant staging and moments of vivid symbolism. Ann’s fears and desires are vivified in sequences that transpire like semi-conscious dreams, accented with the bold use of blackouts and sharp sounds (designed by Richard Feren). Dust falls from the ceiling when the sisters’ neighbour, Mrs. Mellins (Karen Robinson), has a headache upstairs; the rain starts and stops with theatrical abruptness. Although the sisters are nestled away in their basement, there’s a sense that the membrane between inside and outside is so thin it might be illusory. The dangers associated with poverty – illness, depression, isolation, addiction – encroach from all sides”
- Martha Schabas, The Globe and Mail
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/reviews/article-soulpeppers-rendition-of-sisters-is-stuck-in-the-19th-century/
“I was immediately blown away by the set, as was my friend Christine. The home sisters’ home and shop is outlined by a three-dimensional picture frame illustrating exactly how small their home is. Characters move in and around this set with ease but once they are within the confines of the frame, they are inside the home. This becomes a very noteworthy point later in the performance. Within the frame exists a basic sewing and supplies table and a small bed for both sisters hardly big enough for one. I also thoroughly love how the back wall could open up to reveal another set. Designer Michelle Tracey has outdone herself here”
- Samantha Wu, Mooney on Theatre
https://www.mooneyontheatre.com/2018/08/31/review-sisters-soulpepper/