TIMOTHY O'BRIEN & TAZEENA FIRTH, designers

Timothy O'Brien and Tazeena Firth have worked together since 1961. At first they designed in the West End for Michael Codron including new plays by Orton, Saunders and Halliwell; for Sadler's Wells, The Bartered Bride and The Girl of the Golden West.

In 1964, they designed part of the Shakespeare Exhibition and Waiting for Godot at the Royal Court. From 1966-76 much of their work was for the Royal Shakespeare Company, for whom they designed 25 productions by a great variety of authors both in Stratford-Upon-Avon and at the Aldwych Theatre in London. They remember particularly All's Well That Ends Well, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Troilus and Cressida, Pericles, Richard II and four plays by Maxim Gorky: Enemies, Lower Depths, Summerfolk and The Zykovs.

They have worked for the National Theatre since 1974 where their designs have included John Gabriel Borkman and Tales from the Vienna Woods. At the Royal Opera House they have designed The Knot Garden and Peter Grimes, and at the Coliseum The Bassarids.

They have worked in Scandinavia, at the Comédie-Française, the Berlin Opera and at the Adelaide Festival. At the Prague Quadriennale of 1975, they shared the International Gold Medal for Set Design.

After Evita, they will design Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream for the Australian Opera and The Rake's Progress at Covent Garden.

All biographies from original programs. Photos are reproduced from Evita programs and publicity photos in several private collections and are for research and reference only. Copyrights remain with original copyright holders.

© 2000