9 hours ago
Leeds Playhouse theatre sells off 50 years worth of costumes
Thousands of handmade outfits have gone on sale as part of Leeds Playhouse's first ever costume from shows including Little Shop of Horrors, The Sound of Music, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Wizard of Oz, will be available to purchase, with a starting price for some items of just £ Marzetti, head of costume at Leeds Playhouse, said Saturday's sale was a result of the theatre running out of space."We wanted to make sure the costumes had a future life. Some things have been here since Leeds Playhouse began over 50 years ago and they are still in really beautiful condition," she said.
Money from the sale, which runs from 09:30 to 16:00 BST at the Barber Studio, will go towards future theatre productions. "You can get things from £1 up to a caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland, which is £250. But it is beautiful and one off," said Ms Marzetti."We've got some beautiful costumes from Into the Woods, which we loved working on. They were beautiful things to make, but they are so specific to the show that we're going to sell them. They're not cheap but they are beautiful."We've got some My Fair Lady ballgowns going in and we've got Toad from Wind in the Willows' three-piece suit."
Perusing the sale on Friday, director Ian Wilson from theatre company Curtain Up Productions said he was looking for something specific."We're producing White Christmas at Christmas in Ilkley and we knew the Playhouse did White Christmas a few years ago so we've come into see what they've got and they have the entire selection," he said."We've got an entire rail of stuff that's going to get a second life."Ms Marzetti said the sale was not just for theatre companies, but for those looking for Halloween costumes, something to jazz up their regular wardrobe or even a wedding dress."If you want something covered in blood, we've got a whole section of that. We've got circus and panto and a lot of cos play and period costumes," she said."If anybody's going to a festival and wants to dress up we've got lots of glitzy things and furry things for them to wear."
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