Soft or Spiky?
Directed by Daryl Beeton
Polka Theatre & UK tour
Director - Daryl Beeton
Composer - Miss Jacqui
Designer - Ingrid Hu
Lighting Designer - Jonathan Chan
Stage Manager – Lucy Geevee
Assistant to the Director – Eddie HM
PERFORMER
Stacha Dukic
Photography by Steve Gregson
Devised and directed by Daryl Beeton, Soft or Spiky? is a Half Moon and Polka Theatre co-production: an exciting collaboration by two of the UK’s leading children’s venues and touring companies.
This playful and interactive show is full of shapes, sounds and textures, exploring different ways to connect and understand each other.
Inspired by heartfelt conversations with new parents, this humorous production explores the multiple ways we communicate, ensuring that no one is left out.
Glorious!
Directed by Kirk Jameson
Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Writer - Peter Quilter
Director - Kirk Jameson
Musical Supervision - Nick Barstow
Scenographer & Costume Designer - Ingrid Hu
Lighting Designer - Mike Robertson
Sound Designer - Mark Goggins
Wig Designer - Helen Keane
Costume supervisor - Lorraine Parry
Italian translation & dialect coach - Judith Blazer
CAST
FLORENCE - Wendi Peters
COSMÉ - Charlie Hiscock
MARIA/DOROTHY/MRS VERRIDER-GEDGE - Anita Booth
Photography by Cian O’Riain
Set in 1940s New York, Glorious! follows Florence, a wealthy socialite with a dream of operatic stardom. Despite a complete lack of vocal skill, her exuberant and wildly off-key performances earn her a devoted following—culminating in a concert of a lifetime at Carnegie Hall.
Starring Wendy Peters (Coronation Street, ITV; Hetty Feather, CBBC), this witty and uplifting show charts the unlikely rise of a woman whose passion for music far outweighed her ability to sing in tune.
At the heart of the story is her relationship with pianist Cosme McMoon, played by Charlie Hiscock (Ted Lasso, Apple TV+), who finds himself caught between admiration, frustration and reluctant loyalty as he helps bring her vision to life.
★★★★
‘Ingrid Hu’s design is seriously impressive. Jenkins’ period apartment, complete with vintage furniture and opera posters on flock wallpaper, is transformed effortlessly into a bare recording studio.’ (North West End Theatre)
★★★★
‘Ingrid Hu’s settings and costumes are simply but exquisitely done and are very evocative of the 1940s era.’ (Musical Theatre Review)
★★★★
‘Ingrid Hu’s set, which – unusually for Hope Mill Theatre – includes a front-of-house curtain, is handsome and quite formal, which suits the structure of Quilter’s play as the action is divided into four distinct scenes building up to Foster Jenkins’ triumphant final concert.’ (The Stage)
‘Unusually for Hope Mill each scene is separated by the closure of a theatre curtain. The gradual unveiling allows the audience to appreciate fully the sophistication of Ingrid Hu’s stage set. Moving from a discreet sitting room and recording studio to a very impressive silk-screened recital area.’ (The Reviews Hub)
‘Ingrid Hu’s costume design was fantastic. Timely, glamorous and believable. This, together with the set design, brought the audience into the 1940s.’ (All That Dazzles)
Now, I See
conceived and directed by Lanre Malaolu
Theatre Royal Stratford East
Writer/Director/Movement Director - Lanre Malaolu
Composer - Jan Brzezinski
Scenographer - Ingrid Hu
Costume Designer - Debbie Duru
Lighting Designer - Ryan Day
Sound Designer - Pär Carlsson
Associate Director - Kirk-Ann Roberts
Assistant Choreographer - Rochea Dyer
Production Dramaturg - Roy Alexander Weise
Dramaturg - Anthony Simpson-Pike
Artist Collaboration - Joseph Ijoyemi
CAST
KIERON / Oliver Alvin-Wilson
DAYO / Nnabiko Ejimofor
ADEYEYE / Tendai Humphrey Sitima
Photography by Camilla Greenwell
Two brothers reunite to honour their sibling's life at a celebration of remembrance. As they begin to explore letting go, they are forced to confront their shared past and long-standing estrangement.
Following the sell-out run of SAMSKARA (The Yard), this brand-new work by Lanre Malaolu explores the challenge of forgiving yourself for a lifetime of suppressed emotion, while celebrating the profound bond of brotherhood and the resilience that can be found in joy.
The scenography for the production is inspired by the motif of water in the writing and the emphasis of giving space to the actors and lighting. The quality of water, rather than its aesthetics, is interpreted through numerous strands of black fabric stretching across the space and extending from the depth of the stage to the front of the proscenium. Completely invisible at times, these fabric strips help to create a fluid and ethereal space under lighting. A glass casket filled with water as well as simple furniture and fluorescent lights complement this abstract visual language.
Nominated for 2025 Olivier Award for best new production in affiliate theatre.
★★★★
‘A coffin-like box filled with water sits on one side of the stage but is central to Ingrid Hu’s scenography – an unsettling image with hints of purification. Water as a whole is key and comes to seem baptismal.’ (The Guardian)
★★★★
‘Malaolu’s choreography is muscular and exquisitely expressive, complementing the text with joyous dance breaks and sudden snaps into sinuous, slow-motion flailing. Ingrid Hu’s spare set allows plenty of space for all the dramatic movement, and provides a striking focal point with a water-filled glass casket. Occasionally, performers dip their arms inside, bringing up fistfuls of liquid that pours between their fingers or splashes over the stage, creating graceful arcs under Ryan Day’s nimble lights.’ (The Stage)
★★★★
‘Malaolu’s movement expresses emotion – joy, pain, relief – where words fail; enhancing the drama, rather than distracting. Set and staging further complement the movement with a recurring rippling motif extending from drapery across the proscenium arch through to water filling a perspex coffin ever present downstage.’ (The Spy in the Stalls)
Something In The Air (Es Liegt Was In Der Luft)
directed by Sue Buckmaster
Theatre Rites and Schauspielhaus Bochum
Director - Sue Buckmaster
Collaborating designer - Ingrid Hu
Composer - Jessica Dannheisser
Sound Design - Ed Lewis
Puppet Designer & Maker - Naomi Oppenheim
Associate Director - Zoë Grain
CAST
Abenaa Prempeh / Performer
Markus Schabbing / Puppeteer
William Bartley Cooper / Performer
Photography by Brigit Hupfeld
We are all made of air. The whole world is made of air. We are not so separate.
So, take a deep breath and enjoy this new production. You will see air with different eyes. Can we see it at all? Can we capture air? How can we protect it?
Breathe out and find out.
Something In The Air is a site-specific, family performance for children aged 4 to 8. Working as a collaborating designer on development of this devised performance alongside director Sue Buckmaster, the design process started with exploring air as a material and our relationship with it. Air in its multifaceted presence in our daily life is weaved into a narrative fusing puppetry, object manipulation, costume and set design.
Material experimentation and making is an integral part of the design process. For this project, a key decision is made early on not to use PVC - a common material used in inflatables which is toxic. This leads to the use of TPU, a recyclable thermoplastic that has been mainly used in packcraft and water sports equipment. A range of inflatable ‘plants’ - including both fan-powered inflatables as well as air-filled TPU inflatables - are integrated into the overall scenography.
The costume design features a concertina-like ‘pump’ attached to different parts of the body to externalise the idea of a breathing organ worn by the three Air Keepers. Made from folded paper and fabric, these body pumps are connected to the costume using magnets and can be taken out as standalone objects.
Something In The Air is performed at the Schauspielhaus’ new theatre space Theaterrevier, which is dedicated to presenting work for children and young people.
We Need New Names
by NoViolet Bulawayo, in a new adaptation by Mufaro Makubika
Brixton House Theatre
Director - Monique Touko
Scenographer - Ingrid Hu
Lighting Designer - Adam King
Composer - Tendai Humphrey Sitima
Sound Design - Ed Lewis
Movement Director - Ricardo Da Silva
Dramaturgy - Nic Wass and Anna Himali Howard
Creative Associates - Zodwa Nyoni, Laura Ford and Angharad Jones
Casting - Lucy Jenkins and Sooki McShane CDG
CAST
Munashe Chirisa
Anashe Danai
Lukwesa Mwamba
Kalungi Ssebandeke
Princess KhumaloTatenda Mademombe
Photography by Robert Day
Paradise. Home of 10-year-old Darling and her friends: four children on the edge of innocence. A playground overflowing with mischief and games where they imagine countries a luxurious life away from theirs in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
But when Darling moves to Michigan, the western world she encounters as a teenager is far from the American utopia of her dreams…
Based on the novel by the first Black African woman and first Zimbabwean to be Booker Prize-shortlisted, this defiant coming-of-age story is full of exuberance, humour and humanity.
Presented by Fifth Word and New Perspectives, in association with Brixton House.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “Humorous and horrifying in equal measure, the show was a thoroughly engaging experience from start to finish” – LondonTheatre1
★ ★ ★ ★ “Entrancing” – The Guardian
““Mufaro Makubika’s smart dramatisation … The clarity of the storytelling enables the six actors in Monique Touko’s supple production to fluently switch race, age and gender””
- The Guardian
“Ingrid Hu’s set mirrors the play’s sense of adventure. It is a playground of black boxes of varying sizes that are moved about on wheels, becoming a road to run along, a tree to lean against or a table from which food is cooked and served. Some have concealed doors, from which emerge props and costume to aid the storytelling. The black floor underfoot is marked with a circle of white handprints – you can imagine the children creating the art as part of one of their games. But it is also a metaphor for the history of Zimbabwe: white hands all over Black land.” – The Stage
“A clever use of costume, designed by Ingrid Hu, is used to illustrate Darling’s removal from the culture she grew up in. We see her in Zimbabwe in her best dress, yellow and frilled, reflective of the “sunshine in the darkness” she is referred to as. As she spends her first few years in America, we see her in a shorter, less frilly yellow dress, and by the time she is an American teenager in college, all that remains is a yellow top, teamed with denim and a varsity jacket. Still holding on to part of her heritage, but becoming more and more American.” – All That Dazzles
Song From Far Away
by Simon Stephens and Mark Eitzel
HOME Manchester & Hampstead Theatre, London 2023
Director - Kirk Jameson
Designer - Ingrid Hu
Lighting Designer - Jane Lalljee (HOME), Andrew Exeter (Hampstead)
Composer, Musical Supervisor and Arranger - Paul Schofield
Sound Designer - Julian Starr
CAST
Willem - Will Young
Photography by Chris Payne (HOME), Mark Senior (Hampstead)
Produced by Thomas Hopkins, Guy Chapman & HOME in association with John Rogerson, Michael Quinn & WYSCH Productions
Song From Far Away is an unforgettable story and a personal letter to those left behind.
One crisp winter day in New York, Willem receives a phone call – it’s time to go home. Home to Amsterdam – to estranged family and forgotten relationships. As he reflects on his life, unwilling to face the future, he finds himself reaching out to the brother he lost.
Starring multi award-winning singer/songwriter and actor Will Young, this powerful show is his first live theatre role for a decade.
★★★★ “Gentle, truthful, immensely touching” – Financial Times (Hampstead Theatre)
★★★★ "It is a beautiful, meditative performance, directed with care by Jameson, and made all the more poignant given that Young lost his twin brother in 2020. Ingrid Hu’s design offers fleeting moments of drama – a snow flurry, the lights and drifting smoke of fireworks, an oppressively lowering ceiling – but never detracts from Young, magnetically pacing his gilded cage." – The Stage (Hampstead Theatre)
★★★★ "Will Young acts with melodic grace in poignant monologue" - The Guardian (HOME Manchester)
★★★★ "Song from Far Away is supported by exceptional staging and Kirk Jameson’s creative direction. The shifting cinematic ceiling lowers and rises to imitate the simultaneous claustrophobia and expansive loneliness of grief, whilst a glimpse of snowfall in the darkness beyond the penthouse window provides a sublime moment of impressive scale."- Manchester Evening News (HOME Manchester)
In The Net
by Misha Levkov
Jermyn Street Theatre, London
Director - Vicky Moran
Designer - Ingrid Hu
Lighting Designer - Jonathan Chan
Composer & Sound Designer - Matt Eaton
Video Designer - Daniel Denton
Performers
Laura - Carlie Diamond
Hala - Suzanne Ahmet
Anna - Anya Murphy
Immigration officer/Councillor/Estate Agent - Tony Bell
Harry - Hywel Simons
Photography by Steve Gregson
“Sometimes you surprise people into being better than they are.”
Laura and Anna, half-sisters, plan a grand net stretching across the skyline of North London as a way to unite their community. But not everyone’s convinced. Meanwhile Hala, a Syrian refugee staying with the family, finds herself caught in a tangle of immigration red tape. With time running out, drought spreading, and the authorities closing in, the net becomes their arena in the pursuit of justice, joy and safety.
Misha Levkov’s stunning debut interweaves the lives of the three women as delicately as the web they weave on stage. Family, protest, and the joy of defiance meet in this thrilling production, directed by Vicky Moran. In the Net follows WoLab’s critically acclaimed productions For A Palestinian, ENG-ER-LAND and RAINER.
No Particular Order
by Joel Tan
Theatre503, London
Director - Josh Roche
Designer - Ingrid Hu
Lighting Designer - Clare O'Donoghue
Composer & Sound Designer - Sarah Sayeed
Video Designers - Erin Guan & Isabel Sun
Associate sound designer - Rachael Murray
Sound technician - Sylvia Wan
Producer - Mingyu Lin & Iskandar R. bin Sharazuddin
Theatre503 and Ellandar Productions
Performers
1. - Daniel York Loh
2. - Pandora Colin
3. - Jules Chan
4. - Pía Laborde-Noguez
Photography by Lidia Crisafulli
A despot has come to power. The society is listless, submissive and scared.
But beneath every violation of civil autonomy, there are humans, behind every resistance to power, there are individuals. And these people are not different to us but identical, they are not heroic or remarkable, but ordinary.
Through the lives of ornithologists, bureaucrats, soldiers and tour guides, No Particular Order charts the fall, rise and continuation of a single society, asking the same repeated question “Is it empathy, or power, that endures?”
No Particular Order is the startling debut play from 503Five alumnus Joel Tan and was shortlisted in the 2018 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award.
"One thing that stuck out was the undercurrent of birds. The ceiling was shrouded in fabric and filled with feathers, these feathers fell to the ground as they jumped scenes and were symbols of plants, but also seemingly people – moving around, unchanging, always present." - SW Londoner
Athena
by Gracie Gardner
The Yard Theatre
Director - Grace Gummer
Designer - Ingrid Hu
Fight Director - Claire Llewellyn
Lighting Designer - Marty Langthorne
Composer & Sound Designer - Esther Kehinde Ajayi
Movement Director - Yami Lofvenberg
Voice Coach - Rachel Coffey
Assistant Director - Amber Evans
Casting Director - Naomi Downham
Original composition of 'Netch' by Miguel Fernandes + Louise Scheuer
Performers
Athena - Milliicent Wong
Mary Wallis - Gracie Saif
Jamie - Amaia Naima Aguinaga
Photography by Ali Wright
In a New York City fencing club two warriors are ready to battle.
Athena and Mary Wallace are training for the Junior Olympics. They practice together. They compete against each other. They spend their lives together. They wish they were friends.
From Award-winning playwright Gracie Gardner, following an acclaimed extended run in New York, comes a fierce coming of age comedy where two teenagers parry class, competition and power as they practice fencing and life. But only one will win – en garde.
Directed by the first recipient of the National Theatre Women of Tomorrow Director’s Award Grace Gummer.
"deeply funny" (Exuent) "sabre-sharp" (Time Out)
★★★★ "Enthralling"
“Aided by Ingrid Hu’s engrossing blue-and grey piste set, complete with netted curtains and metallic flooring, and Esther Kehinde Ajayi’s constant, tension-building soundscape, it is clear, that ultimately, only one will be victorious.” (The Stage)
★★★★ "Impressive" (The Independent)
★★★★★ "Exhilarating"
“Ingrid Hu and Marty Langthorne conjure a fencing club, a teenage bedroom, a nightclub with lighting alone. Noset changes here: only speed-of-light transformations from there to here, keeping up with the velocity of the swinging blade.” (Londontheatre1)
The Global Playground
Manchester International Festival & Theatre Rites
Great Northern Warehouse, 2021
Director - Sue Buckmaster
Choreographer - Gregory Maqoma
Designer - Ingrid Hu
Composer - Ayanna Witter-Johnson
Lighting Designer - Guy Hoare
Sound Designer - Nick Sagar
Production Manager - Ali Beale
Digital Film & Production - Martin Riley
Assistant Director - Rebecca Taylor Sharman
Assistant Choreographer - Gemma Nixon
Assistant Designer - Michael Douglas
Puppet Makers - Stitches & Glue, Talk to the Hand
Performers - Jahmarley Bachelor, Thulani Chauke, Annie Edwards, Sean Garratt, Merlin Jones, Kennedy Junior Muntanga, Charmene Pang
Photography by Tristram Kenton
A group of dancers meet to make a film – but things get wonderfully weird when the camera takes on a life of its own…
We can now connect with anyone, in person and on screen – but is the camera our friend, our playmate or something else entirely? Partly inspired by our year under lockdown, The Global Playground explored the magic of our first encounters, how we play together, how we connect and sometimes disconnect – and ultimately how we make the most of the time we spend together, however we spend it.
Curiouser
Norway and UK tour
Performers - Gerd Elin Aase (dybwikdans), Luke Birch (Flexer & Sandiland), understudy Marie Ronold Mathisen (dybwikdans)
Choreographers - Siri Dybwik, Yael Flexer
Digital artist - Nic Sandiland
Animator - Per Dybvig
Composer and Dramaturg - Nils Christian Fossdal
Set designer - Ingrid Hu
Costume designers - Siri Dybwik and Ingrid Hu
Lighting design/production management - Natalie Rowland
Photography by Morten Berentsen
2018
RAS Sandnes Kulturhus, Norway
Varen Randaberg Kulturscene, Norway
The Lowry Salford
Ideas Test at GlassBox Theatre, Gillingham
The Place Theatre, London
Brighton Festival
A digital dance show for ages 3-6 by Flexer & Sandiland in collaboration with Norwegian company dybwikdans.
Guided by two friendly dance-performers, adults and children delve into magical caves, explore leafy forests, soar through starry night skies, and meet playful characters; loosely inspired by the children’s classic Alice in Wonderland.
This is an interactive dance performance where audiences can choose to sit back and watch or get up and get involved. The performance incorporates animated hand-drawn projection, dance, sound, text and interactive digital objects, creating an intimate yet spectacular experience.
MUSIC IMPOSSIBLE
LSO St Luke's, London
Composer/Dramatist/Co-Director – Gregory Emfietzis
Director – Charlotte Ive
Set design and illustration – Ingrid Hu
Puppet designer/puppeteer – Joanna Lakin
Myrto Loulaki – voice
Guillermina Chivite – violin
Chris Goodman – clarinet
Andriana Minou - piano
The development and realisation of the project was generously supported by the London Symphony Orchestra's Soundhub scheme and Arts Council England.
In a city from which music has been forcefully banned, a group of citizens secretly manage to discover the truth about the missing sounds and colours. A theatrical music performance, devised and composed by Gregory Emfietzis, and presented as a shadow puppetry show. It follows Roger on his mysterious journey, full of thrills an action, as he strives to find a way to destroy all evil. The piece is based on Myrto Loulaki’s fairy tale and performed by the Metapraxis Ensemble.
By enlarging the performance canvas of a traditional shadow theatre - normally a suitcase size screen propped up to allow the puppeteers to hide behind the screen – the design involved two large screens, allowing scaled puppets to interact with the musicians who are also performers/real size puppets. A shadow world is created by juxtaposing imagery, puppets and human shadows, which dissolves at the end as colours emerge.
The development and realisation of the project was generously supported by the London Symphony Orchestra's Soundhub scheme and the Arts Council.
EXISTENCIA INSTRUMENTAL
Igleisia St Luis, Seville, Spain
Based on ‘Life is a Dream’ by Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Part of Central St Martins MA Scenography course, 2001.
A piece of devised performance using collected text, Spanish nursery rhymes, objects, recorded and live sounds. Igleisia St Luis is a Baroque cathedral rich in ornamentation and architectural details, and above all, excellent acoustic qualities. The piece, designed for the mind’s eye, explored the visual and acoustical relationship of scenography by creating a textured theatrical experience where sound and imagery collided and merged.
TROILUS AND CRESSIDA
David MacK. Murray Studio, Dalhousie University, Canada
By Shakespeare
Directed by Jure Gantar
February, 2003.
A modernised version of Troilus and Cressida set against World War I. The surreal atmosphere is inspired by Derek Jarman’s films as well as war poems of the time. The audience sit along two long sides of the studio theatre space, watching the show through two opposite perspectives. A layer of ‘cloud’ delineates mortals and immortals, blurring the boundary at times through a series of transformations - from Helen of Troy’s wedding gown to Greek and Trojan camps - made possible by 16 pulley points above operated by the crew.
THEATRE OF THE VISCERA
La Nef Manufacture d’utopies, Paris, France
Devised by Dominique Baron-bonarjee (concept, research, and movement)
Puppetry – Matt Jackson
Scenography – Ingrid Hu
Photography by Duncan Wylie
September, 2010.
Produced by La Nef Manufacture d’utopies, as part of an artist residency, this buton performance is inspired by Antonin Artaud’s concept of ‘body without organs’ and a story about organ transplant. Using La Nef’s former brick factory space as a base, the scenography involves a series of elastic and moveable draperies hoisted in the space, allowing the performers to experiment with objects and movements, and transform the interior landscape of the space through this interaction. The result is an installation performance incorporating butoh dance, puppetry, and live music.
ELECTRA
David MacK. Murray Studio, Dalhouse University, Canada
By Sophocles
Director – Jure Gantar
A modern adaptation of the Greek tragedy set in an unknown refugee camp where detainees were separated by their gender.
Audience entered the space through a gallery on the upper level of the studio theatre. Photos depicting lives of the refugees before they went into exile were displayed. Audience then descended to find themselves walking between the male and female camps. They sat in between the two camps, watching the drama unfold around them.
The scenography contributed to the theatrical tension by introducing proximity between the audience and the performers. A concrete floor was poured in-situ filling the performance area in the middle, surrounded by floor to ceiling metal fencing, creating realism through materiality, sound, texture, and dust.
ON THE CUSP
FreedM Studio, Roundhouse / Rich Mix Studio Two, London
Directed by Gillian Foley and David Lockwood
Photography by Tony Rizzo
First shown on 10-11 August, 2009, as part of the Camden Fringe Festiveal at Roundhouse FreedM Studio, London.
Rich Mix Studio Two, London. February, 2010.
On the Cusp was a solo performance conceived, written and performed by Adi Lerer.
It is a fantastical journey of the performer discovering how she perceives the one she is in conflict with. As an Israeli and a new British citizen, the show reveals aspects of her background and current state. It explores her persistent longing and need to meet her female counterpart, and what she represents; investigating personal and collective fears and hopes.
The design started with a simple scenographic idea: an object that could be manipulated by the performer throughout the performance to respond to the narrative. The design process and the performance evolved in parallel, with the ‘object’ playing an active role in shaping the story, the character, and the physical performance. The final design was a structure made of double layered fabric, crinoline and spandex netting, suspended on a pulley system with four ropes, which suggested at different times a basket of oranges, a boat, a dress, a shelter, as well as more emotional and psychological aspects of the piece.
MEDEA, THE FOREIGNER
Bridewell Theatre, London
Director – Patrícia Carreira
Movement direction – Nicole Pschetz
Set and lighting designer – Ingrid Hu
Cello – Nina Plapp
Performed by Nicole Pschetz Pete Picton, André Amálio
Photography by Siobhan Bradshaw and Step Haiselden
October, 2010
Originally created in Lisbon, Portugal, Medea, the Foreigner is a multidiscipliary theatre performance based on Euridipes’ Medea. The London performance is adapted specifically for Bridewell Theatre. The lighting and set design highlight points of tension, using sand, paper and lighting to create a space of foreignness, emphasising the clash of cultures.
PLATFORM THEATRE FOYER
Central St Martins, University of London
Design – Ingrid Hu and Xavier Llarch-Font
Structural Engineer –Tall Engineers
Fabricator and installer – Steely Trees
Photography by James Whitaker
The Platform Theatre at Central St Martins in Kings Cross, London, is a public space shared by the students and the public. Two years after its opening, the space has become a busy hub for staff and students, as well as an event space for corporate hire.
The design brief asks for a more intimate arrangement, a flexible display structure for students’ work, and lockable shelves for the student bar – without drilling into the beautiful end-grain floor and exposed concrete ceiling designed by Stanton Williams Architects.
Working with TALL Engineers, a series of steel poles, designed to be compressed against the floor and ceiling, serve as the basic structural elements for incorporating lights and shelves. In response to the linear and industrial architectural language of the space, a lighting design in the form of a breakaway section of the steel pole is developed to allow omni-directional turning. These spotlights create intimate pockets of warm glow and help to define the furniture layout in the foyer. They are also used as spotlights for displays and events in the foyer.
The bar area is fitted with a series of boxes for storing alcohol, locked by mechanical mesh frames that can be winched up and down from one side, like miniature scenery flats.
AUDIO OBSCURA
Manchester International Festival, 2011
Text and direction – Lavinia Greenlaw
Sound design – Tim Barker
Fabricator and installer – Steely Trees
Underscore – Harry Escott
Sound production by Somethin' Else
Photography by James Whitaker
Manchester Piccadilly Station Saturday 2 - Sunday 17 July 2011
London St Pancras International Station 13 September – 23 October 2011
Co-commissioned by Artangel and Manchester International Festival, Audio Obscura is a sound work by award-winning poet and novelist Lavinia Greenlaw. In an aural equivalent to the camera obscura, the audience experienced the project in a solitary way - hearing fragments of individual narratives, glimpses of interior worlds drawn from monologues that glance off one another, hovering between speech and unconscious thought.
The design of the kiosk is inspired by the geometry of a seashell – a common reference to sound and hearing – and camera obscura. It is a temporary kiosk where 42 headsets are stored and distributed to the public. In Piccadilliy Station, the kiosk appears to penetrate the glazed concourse, drawing attention from the train platforms. In St Pancras station, the kiosk is located in the middle of the arcade, visible from all sides and the second floor.
During the day, the front elevation folds into a desk for the invigilators, and at night the kiosk is fully closed, with event details on its door.
CHRISTIE'S CURATES: PAST PERFECT / FUTURE PRESENT
Christie's London
Curators – Alina Brezhneva, Bianca Chu, Milo Dickinson, and Tancredi Massimo di Roccasecca
Exhibition design Ingrid Hu
Graphics and Digital design Christie’s Creative Studio
Structural Engineer TALL Consulting Engineers
Fabricator and installer Qwerk
Graphics contractor L&S Reprographics
June 2015
Past Perfect / Future Present was an exhibition at Christie’s King Street, London, that juxtaposed art across all ages and from different parts of the globe, together with cutting-edge and new media works by four emerging artists: Armand Boua, James Balmforth, Olga Chernysheva and Harry Sanderson. Curated by four young curators, the brief for the exhibition design was to change the perception of Christie’s and to transform the listed building temporarily to attract a younger audience. A bold proposal was put forward to use scaffolding to display Old Master art works. The structure was designed to allow visitors to see various owners’ markings at the back of paintings, whilst providing a new setting to appreciate the artworks on display. Arranged across 6 themed galleries, the exhibition included a masterpiece of Baroque portraiture by Rubens, Lawrence of Arabia’s own dagger, components of a working Spitfire airplane, as well as pieces by modern masters including Henry Moore, LS Lowry and Sigmar Polke.
LONGPLAYER BOWL INSTALLATION
Trinity Buoy Wharf, London
Fabrication and installation – Littlehampton Welding Ltd
Structural Engineer – Tall consulting Engineer
Photography by James Whitaker
Longplayer is a one thousand year long musical composition conceived and composed by Jem Finer. It began playing at midnight on the 31st of December 1999, and will continue to play without repetition until the last moment of 2999, at which point it will complete its cycle and begin again.
Ingrid was commissioned to design a display and storage system for the 234 singing bowls that are part of the 66-foot-wide orchestral instrument used to perform Longplayer Live. The idea is based on a circular form evoking the movement of the Longplayer Live instrument and of the cycle of the music itself.
Each tier of the structure, containing 39 bowls positioned sequentially, corresponds to one of the six concentric rings of the Longplayer Live instrument. The curvatures are derived from the diameter of each bowl, allowing the handmade bowls to stand out.
The steel structure was installed in the Lighthouse, Trinity Buoy Wharf – home of Longplayer - in autumn 2012.
THE GIRL WHO...
East London / Spitalfields Market / The Rag Factory
by Kazzum
Director – Daryl Beeton
Designer – Ingrid Hu
Dramaturge – Carissa Lynch
Composer – Chloe Clifford-Frith
Video Artist – Jamil Yamani
Location theatre for 11-16 year olds.
The Girl Who… begins like any other tour of the impressive Spitalfields Market in east London and the atmospheric streets surrounding it. But then we meet Monika, an extraordinary character whose past experiences have changed her life forever. Suddenly we are impelled to help Monika on her physical and emotional quest to answer a basic human question: “What is my true identity?”
Inspired by Kazzum’s work with young refugees in London, the show is based on a traditional Buddhist fable, ‘The Man Who Didn’t Want to Die’, this fast-paced, immersive and interactive performance places the audience in the driving seat for a 90 minute adventure through the old buildings, streets and markets of east London.
MUSIC FROM NOWHERE
Music From Nowhere
Rose Lipman Building, London
Devised by Le Cirque de Charles la Tannes in collaboration with RIFT
Designers Jelka Kretzschmar and Ingrid Hu
Photography Rocio Cachon
26-28 July 2016
‘The man who invented electroniс music is about to die. His name is Lev Theremin and he is almost 100 years old. He dedicated all his life to creating things from thin air: first electronic instrument, interlaced video signal, drones, automatic doors and acoustic spying devices. Now, he is obsessively working on the problem of immortality.’
A research and development performance of a uniquely personal journey through the life of one of electronic music’s first pioneers.
Review on The Calvert Journal by Miriam Gillinson
Fire! Fire!
Museum of London
Exhibition curator – Meriel Jeeter
Lead designer – Skellon Studio
Exhibition scenography – Ingrid Hu
Graphic design – Studio Eger
Audio Visual – Centrescreen
Lighting – DHA Lighting
Fabricator – Factory Settings
With special thanks to the museum project team and architectural scholar/archaeologist John Schofield for their support throughout the project.
23 July 2016 – 17 April 2017
Marking the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, Fire! Fire! is an immersive and interactive exhibition at the Museum of London for families and adults. The scenography is inspired by the surviving illustrations of the time, and archaeological research of Tudor houses in the 17th century London. Many artefacts unseen to the public are displayed for the first time, alongside a large restored medieval fire engine, and multimedia interactive activities.
WE RAISE OUR HANDS IN THE SANCTUARY
The Albany, London
Writers, directors – Daniel Fulvio, Martin Moriarty, Inky Cloak Company
Choreographer Mina Aidoo
Set and Costume Designer – Ingrid Hu
Lighting designer –Marty Langthorne
Sound – Xana
Cast – Jahvel Hall, Oseloka Obi, Carl Mullaney, Dean Graham, Jordan Ajadi, Shawn Willis
Photography by Leon Csernohlavek
Co-produced by Inky Cloak and The Albany
The Albany, London
2-11 February 2017
Combining dance, drama and the club sounds of the 1980s, We Raise Our Hands in the Sanctuary tells an uplifting story of the power of gay friendship and the enduring importance of queer spaces.
Disenchanted by the London gay disco scene of 1981, two best friends build their own underground club where devotees escape the racism, hardship and homophobia that stalk the city’s streets. But just as they make it big, ambition, addiction and the dawning onslaught of AIDS threaten to tear their friendship apart.
‘A vibrant exploration of nightclub culture in the 1980s… expertly integrates drama, music and dance.’ ★★★★ Sunday Express
‘Taking inspiration from an eclectic mix the decade’s idols ranging from Freddy Mercury to Boy George, the costume design works in conjunction with Ajadi’s and Willis’ performances… to set the scene in a satisfying way unattainable by traditional prop methods. The Albany’s stage gives a robust platform to each any every scenario, at one point mirroring the DJ booth with a church pulpit seamlessly and reinforcing the spiritual and therapeutic value of the sanctuary.’
The Prickle
‘Ingrid Hu’s colourful and multi-levelled tetris style set doubles as runways and cloakrooms, DJ booths and dance floors. No setting is improbable as we are lifted out of the realm of verisimilitude and the actors move around the space beautifully. The cabaret, semi-thrust configuration of the room evokes a club atmosphere and is sympathetic to the Albany’s slightly unusual layout.’
Max May (Live Theatre)
ZERAFFA GIRAFFA
An Omnibus Theatre and Little Angel Theatre co-production
A play by Sabrina Mahfouz
Based on the book by Dianne Hofmeyr and illustrated by Jane Ray
Director – Elgiva Field
Puppets and Puppetry – Matthew Hutchinson
Set and Costume Designer – Ingrid Hu
Composer – Candida Caldicot
Lighting Designer – Oscar Wyatt
Sound Designer – Jon McCleod
Cast – Ashton Owen, Andre Refig, Nadia Shash
Photography by Ellie Kurttz
21 September – 4 November, 2017 Little Angel Theatre, London
25 Nov – 17 Dec, 2017 Omnibus Theatre, London
Production for Young People aged 0-7
Based on the book by award-winning children’s author Dianne Hofmeyr, Zeraffa Giraffa is inspired by the true tale of a giraffe and its keeper Atir. Sent as a diplomatic gift from the Great Pasha of Egypt to the King of France in the 1820s, the story follows the various stages of the epic trip taken by these two companions. The pair are thrown through terrifying storms and encounter all sorts of nerve jangling creatures – and not to mention locals – before they arrive in France where no one has seen an animal like Zeraffa before.
Working in close collaboration with the creative team, the design of the stage and costumes evolved from ideas based around children’s perception of the visual world. Objects, scenery and costumes transform with and by the puppets and performers in unexpected and imaginative ways.
★★★★★ “a delightful production” Theatre Bubble
★★★★ “This is such a creative production with spellbinding surprises galore for the little ones, not to mention the wonderfully mature themes of difference and friendship”
Everything Theatre
★★★★ “interesting insights for all ages to ponder on”
London Theatre 1
Light / Dark
SU-EN Butoh Company, Uppsala Concert and Congress studio, Sweden
Installation performance
Filament LED light bulbs, cables, paper
Choreography - SU-EN
Light installation - Ingrid Hu
Music - Mikael Stavöstrand
Performers - Madeleine Holmund, Heiko Klandt
Photography by Ingrid Hu
We perceive light because we experience darkness. It is never just one or the other.
For over a century, we live as if we no longer rely on daylight. It is a paradox of wanting both. Artificial light presents a physiological dilemma, and more so in a place like Sweden where duration of daylight varies from one extremity to the other.
The installation is a response to this constant power negotiation between light and dark, seen and unseen. An artificial topography of light that evolves and adapts around our changing body. At the centre, a luminous element remains constant, reminding us the physical reality that dictates our natural world. This topography illuminates, in total darkness, and in our mind.
Invited by SU-EN, the collaboration started with a research and development period around light as a material. Using commonly available domestic light bulbs, the process involved dipping light bulbs in paint to reveal the glowing filament and making the glass to be its own light shade.
Produced by SU-EN Butoh Company and Uppsala Konsert & Kongress, Sweden
Chotto Xenos
Akram Khan Company
World tour
XENOS Artistic Direction and Original Choreography - Akram Khan
Chotto Xenos Direction and Adaptation - Sue Buckmaster (Theatre-Rites)
Set Designer - Ingrid Hu
Lighting Designer - Guy Hoare
Original Music - Domenico Angarano, inspired by Vincenzo Lamagna’s score for XENOS
Sound Design - Domenico Angarano, Phil Wood
Costume Design - Kimie Nakano
Film and Projection Design - Lucy Cash
Assistant Choreographer - Nicola Monaco
Rehearsal Directors - Nicolas Ricchini, Amy Butler
Dancer - Guilhem Chatir or Kennedy Junior Muntanga
Photography by Jean Louis Fernandez
How does war begin? And how does it end? It depends on who is telling the story.
Inspired by the award winning final full-length solo XENOS, Chotto Xenos is a captivating dance production that takes young audiences back in time, exploring the often forgotten and untold stories of World War 1 colonial soldiers, in order to shine light on our present and future.
Chotto Xenos will be performed by either Guilhem Chatir or Kennedy Junior Muntanga and is for anyone over the age of 8.
A Kettle of Fish
24 September – 13 October, 2018 The Yard Theatre, London
Writer - Brad Birch
Director - Caitlin McLeod
Designer - Ingrid Hu
Lighting Designer - Joshua Gadsby
Composer and Sound Designer - Max Pappenheim
Video Designer - Tegid Cartwright
Stage Manager on The Book - Devika Ramcharan
Production Manager - Seb Cannings
Casting Director - Ruth O'Dowd CDG
Assistant Stage Manager - Isobel Eagle-Wilsher
CAST
Lisa - Wendy Kweh
Photography by Helen Murray
She’s on a plane. She’s 30,000 feet in the air. And on the ground, back home, an emergency is unfolding.
Lisa is on her way to a new country for her work. She has spent months learning. She’s read the books, she’s watched the YouTube videos. She knows this business.
But something has happened thousands of feet below, hundreds of miles away. A disaster. A tragedy. Something that prompts her to question what is more important to her; where she has come from? Or where she is going?
Setting the story against a multi-layered visual language involving three symbolic spaces, A Kettle of Fish is a multi-media performance experienced through an immersive and intimate sound design.
