Table Of ContentWIGS, HAIR AND
MAKE-UP
NATIONAL THEATRE BACKSTAGE GUIDES
To audiences, the work that goes on behind the scenes of a theatre can
sometimes feel mysterious and the sheer number of people involved often
unknown. It is often said that it takes a village to get things done and that is
certainly true of theatre. At the National Theatre, writers, directors, designers
and companies of actors work alongside skilled craftspeople to realise the
productions audiences see on stage, from wigs, hair and make-up artists to stage
management, casting, sound, lighting and video, costume and even armourers.
The National Theatre Backstage Guides series aims to bring the skills behind
much of this talent to the fore, offering practical and positive introductions
to different aspects of theatre-making. These guides don’t presume previous
knowledge about each discipline and are equally perfect for those who are
merely curious to understand more about how practitioners work as those
looking to start out in the industry or to progress.
The series celebrates the ingenuity and dedication of those involved in theatre-
making, but it also aims to incite future talent. There is no one perfect route
into the theatre industry and as such, these books are not masterclasses. Written
by experts, with lived examples, humour and personal insight, they reflect on
changes within the industry and may challenge your assumptions about the
work involved. Through practical exercises, tips and tricks to improve – or
even begin – your practice, they offer a springboard for finding out more or for
further development.
We hope you find the series enlightening, demystifying and above all, inspiring.
Other titles in the National Theatre Backstage Guides series:
Playwriting: A Backstage Guide by Dan Rebellato
WIGS, HAIR AND
MAKE-UP
A Backstage Guide
Helen Casey
METHUEN DRAMA
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First published in Great Britain 2023
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CONTENTS
Preface vi
Introduction 1
1 Starting out: Training, employment
and kit 9
2 Design and research 27
3 Wig and postiche making 49
4 Wig and hair dressing 65
5 Make-up 81
6 Prosthetics and stage effects 97
7 Staging 115
Conclusion 129
Glossary 135
List of credits 138
PREFACE
T
he lights are up, the scene is underway. It is 2011,
and the show is Ibsen’s Emperor and Galilean, in
a version by Ben Power and directed by Jonathan
Kent. We have reached the climactic closing of the scene
before blackout and I am dashing around to the side of the
Olivier auditorium to listen to the reaction of the audience
as Gregory of Nazianzus, played by Jamie Ballard, appears
to dig his nails into his own skin and tear the flesh from his
chest. The audience gasp in horror and I breathe a sigh of
relief – our carefully designed effect has achieved the desired
reaction for another performance. I return backstage to mop
up the pool of fake blood. The next night, we will do it all
again.
I have been working as a wigs, hair and make-up artist for
almost twenty years, on projects spanning everything from
disco musicals in South Korea, to tiny independent films in
Welsh fields in the middle of the night, to fancy dress parties
for millionaire tycoons in penthouse apartments. I started
my career as a teenager, volunteering for local amateur
dramatics societies and smearing dirt on the faces of urchins
for the school production of Oliver! I fell in love with working
in the theatre early on and have spent most of my working
life in that part of the industry.
The live performance aspect of the theatre is something
which has continued to hold my fascination. As a non-
performing creative worker, there are not many disciplines
in which your work can find its audience with such
immediacy. Hearing the reaction of audiences to a character
look or stage effect is an unexpected benefit of working in
a live performance environment and one which I never get
tired of.
I believe that everyone can use their creativity to tell a
story and the transformation of the body can play a part in
that at any scale. I hope that the tips and insights in this book
will inspire and encourage you to tell your own stories.
PREFACE vii
viii
INTRODUCTION
WIGS, HAIR AND MAKE-UP
INTRODUCTION
Throughout recorded history, make-up and hair
manipulation have been used for protection, transformation
and beautification (eye make-up equipment has been found
in Egyptian burials from 4000 bce). From the geometric
beauty of Japanese Kabuki face paint to the rosy cheeks
and huge wig of a pantomime dame, they have also been
important elements of narrative performance around the
world for centuries.
Make-up and hair are powerful tools in storytelling, as
they represent not just a costume change, but a change of the
body, of the very self.
Sociologist Bryan Turner writes: ‘In pre-modern societies,
the body is an important surface on which the marks of
social status, family position, tribal affiliation, age, gender
and religious cohesion can easily and publicly be displayed.’
There is a direct correlation between Ancient Greek
chorus masks, the strongly painted travelling players of the
sixteenth century and today’s modern clowns, all of which
used the white face to become unrecognizable, to lose
themselves in the role and the play.
