Bettina John

Bettina John is an international and award-winning freelance set and costume designer and artist. She has worked with a wide range of theatres, theatre makers, artists, dance artists, choreographers, musicians, acrobats, circus performers and actors.

She studied fashion and photography in Germany, then did her masters degree in new media art at Goldsmiths University in London and completed a second master degree in Theatre Design at Wimbledon College of Art in 2018. She had assisted fashion designers and worked in photography studios before she started to shift her focus on designing for the performing arts in 2010. This varied background makes her approach to design and art uniquely interdisciplinary and boundary-pushing.

Bettina John worked with a wide range of exciting choreographers at the start of her career before focussing on opera and theatre. She collaborated with dance artists and coreographers such as Arthur Pita, Ben Duke (Lost Dog), Tony Adigun (AvantGarde Dance), Tom Roden (New Art Club), Hagit Yakira and Shane Shombu (Complicité). Since 2018 she has worked with exciting new voices such as Julia Burbach, Greg Eldridge, Lysanne van Overbeek and Franciska Éry on opera productions including works such as The Ring Cycle, Manon Lescaut, Onegin, The Barber of Seville and Orfeo by Gluck, amongst others.

She has been commissioned to write a book on costume design, which has been published by Crowood Press in 2021.

Bettina John’s design approach lends itself to an experimental and innovative approach to design which is why she is regularly asked to develop designs for unconventional shows where she draws inspiration from fashion, painting, textile art, graphic design and the study of human behaviour. Her designs are heavily informed by her art practice. With funding from the German arts council she went on an art residency in 2012 to stay and work at the ISCP in New York and in 2013 in Rio De Janeiro. That allowed her to develop and further her own art practice which can be placed mainly within the performing art scene as a performance- and installation artist herself. This has led to several exhibitions and scholarships in London, New York, Rio De Janeiro, Berlin and her hometown Halle.

Credits

Upcoming

Theater Kiel, Germany
“Manon”, opera by Puccini, directed by Julia Burbach, 2023

Theater Lübeck, Germany
“Onegin”, opera by Tschaikowski, directed by Julia Burbach, 2023
Set and costume design

Hackney Empire and The Arcola Theatre, London, ‘Siegfried’ and ‘Götterdämmerung’, Grimeborn Festival, directed by Julia Burbach, 2022

English Touring Opera, UK
“Tutenkhamun’s shoes”, music by Rosabella Gregory, libretto by Robin Norton-Hale, directed by Lysanne Van Overbeek, Polka Theatre, London, Tour, 2022

IFOpera Opera, UK
“Rita”, by Donizetti, directed by Lysanne Van Overbeek, 2022
“Il segreto di Susanna’ by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari directed by Daisy Egan-Brown, Belcombe Court, 2022

Clonter Opera, UK
“Albert Herring”, by Benjamin Britten, directed by Michael McCafferty, 2022

Cape Town Opera, South Africa
“La Rondine”, by Puccini, directed by Magdalene Minaar and Michael Hunt, 2021

Clonter Opera, UK
“The Barber of Seville”, by Rossini, directed by Greg Eldridge and Julia Burbach, 2021

Hackney Empire and The Arcola Theatre, London, ‘The Valkyrie’, Grimeborn Festival, directed by Julia Burbach, 2021

Theatre for Young Spectators, Perm, Russia
“Alice in Wonderland”, directed by Michael Hunt, 2020

GHBoy productions
“GHBoy” written by Paul Harvard, Charing Cross Theatre, directed by Jon Pashley, produced by James Quaife Productions, 2020

London College of Music
“Enron”, “Pornography”, “Sing Yer Heart out for the Lads”, “Pentecost” directed by Paul Harvard, 2019 and 2020

The Arcola Theatre
“Das Rheingold”, Grimeborn, directed by Julia Burbach, 2019
“Lucretia”, Grimeborn, directed by Julia Burbach, 2018

The MTA (Musical Theatre Academy)
“Cinderella”, at Bernie Grant Arts Centre, directed by Howard Samuals, 2015
“A State Affair”, at Bernie Grant Arts Centre, directed by Paul Foster, 2015
“Kitty Jay”, at the Bridewell Theatre, directed by Michael Howcroft, 2013

Old Red Lion, “Nimby”, new writing by Lola Stephenson, directed by Elly Hopkins, produced Gravel Theatre and Make and Bake, 2011

Opera House Halle, “The Medium” by Menotti, directed by Philine Tietzel, 2011

Ad Parnassum, “Dido and Aeneas” by Henry Purcell, directed by Maria-Lisa Geyer at St. Pauls Church, 2011

Handel Festival Halle, “Alcina” by G.F. Handel, directed by Olaf Nachtwey, at Volkspark, Halle, Germany, 2008

Costume design

AvantGarde Dance
“Scrum”, Choreorgaphy and direction by Tony Adigun, 2022

Deep Purple
“Oh Well”, music video, directed by Dan Gibling, 2021

London College of Music
“Fatherland”, “The Wolves”, directed by Paul Harvard, 2021

Mimbre Dance, Mime and Acrobatic Arts
“Lift”, directed by Lina Johansson, 2019, UK and Europe tour
“If I could I would”, directed by Lina Johansson, 2016, UK and Europe tour

The Place, London School for Contemporary Dance
Undergraduate degree shows in 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017 with Choreographers Arthur Pita, Tony Adigun, Liz Aggiss and Ben Duke

AvantGarde Dance
“Romeo and Juliet”, Choreorgaphy and direction by Tony Adigun, produced by Remarkable Productions, Southwark Playhouse and National Theatre, London, 2014

Matthew Bourne’s New Choreographers Adventures Award
“Everything and Nothing” Choreography by James Cousins (winner of the award 2011), Sadler’s Wells, 2012

Verve, Northern School for Contemporary Dance
“There We Have Been”, Choreography and direction by James Cousins, Tour: The Place, Linbury Theatre (ROH) amongst others, 2011

Kings Head Theatre
“Constance” by Oscar Wilde, under artistic director Adam Spreadbury-Maher, 2011

Dance United between 2011-2014

“The Calling” by Kwesis Johnson for Dance-United, at Bernie Grant Theatre and Richmix, 2014
“If walls could speak” by Sarah Dowling at Two Temple Place, 2013
“Silverline” by Lee Smikle at Trinity Laban Theatre, 2013
“Speak But One Word To Me”, Site-responsive dance piece by Lizzie Kew Ross at Two Temple Place, 2012

Teaching and design assistance

Central Saint Martin’s, UAL, London
October 2018 – present
Course leader and tutor on the short course for costume and set design for performance at Central Saint Martin’s
-Creating and delivering up to 6 short course cohorts a year for set design and costume design

Oldenburger Staatstheater, Germany
April 2016 – November 2016
Design assistant to set and costume designer Jason Southgate, production Sweeney Todd, directed by Michael Moxham
-assisting Jason Southgate during production of Sweeney Todd, attending production meetings and rehearsals, sourcing props and costumes when needed, conducting fittings and acting on behalf of Jason Southgate in his absence

Royal Opera House, London
October 2014 – February 2015
Casual performance workroom support technician
-Responsible for alterations, repair of costumes and the remaking of costumes

Royal Opera House, London
March 2014
Design assistant to set and costume designer Becs Andrew on the production The Crackle, directed by Matthew Herbert

Nico and the Navigator
December/January 2013/14
Design assistant to set designer Oliver Proske, production: The Numbered by Elia Canetti, Residenztheater, Berlin, directed by Nicola Hümpel
-assisting the studio based design process with model-making, conducting research and sitting in meetings

Architecture Association London
2008 – 2013
Visiting tutor
-Lecturing principles of the design process
-Teaching principles of pattern cutting and draping
-Tutoring the student’s spring term project based around the body in its environment

Sky Arts and Riverside Studios
June/July 2010
Wardrobe Assistant at “Hens”, head of wardrobe Jocelyn Creighton, directed by Peter Gill
-Assist Jocelyn Creighton with sourcing, reparing and altering of costumes

Trinity Laban
October 2010 – January 2011
Design assistant at the Costume Department, Head of Costume Suzie Holmes
-Assisting Suzie Holmes and other designers in e.g. dying costumes, research and sourcing, pattern cutting and sewing
-Helping maintain and run the busy design workshop like sewing machine maintenance and cleaning, basic admin tasks and answering phone calls
-As a consequence of my building up a good relationship and demonstrating the relevant skills, I was asked back to design and make costumes for the dance degree shows in 2014 and 2015

Education

Master in Theatre Design
2018-2019
Wimbledon College of Art, UAL, London

Master in Image and Communication
2008-2009
Goldsmiths University, London, completed with distinction

Bachelor in Fashion Design
2003-2007
University of Art [Hochschule für Kunst] Burg Giebichenstein, Halle, Germany, completed with distinction

Awards

Shortlisted for Linbury Prize, 2019

Off-West-End Award for best opera production (The Rape of Lucretia) 2018

Apolda European Design Award, 2008

Training

Ba Fashion Design University of the Arts Burg Giebichenstein, Halle, Germany
MA New Media Art, Goldsmiths University
MA Theatre Design, Wimbledon