A designer & community artist based in Manchester, Nerissa designs and makes stuff. She also helps others to design and make stuff.
I trained in Theatre Design at Nottingham Trent University. I have been a freelance set & costume designer for over 15 years. I am Director of Design at Aqueous Humour, a street theatre company, in charge of design for all the professional shows and community projects. I have worked closely as a designer & facilitator for several years with Proud & Loud and DIY Theatre Company. I was Head of Design at Manchester Youth Theatre from 1997-2000 designing 3-4 shows each summer at venues such as Library Theatre, Contact, Green Room & Royal Exchange Studio.
For full listings of theatre design projects, please download my CV.
Written by Caryl Churchill
Directed by Paul Jaynes
‘Mad Forest’ is a portrait of Romanian society circa the Christmas Revolution in 1989. The story focuses on two families of different classes to reveal what life was like under the totalitarian regime and the results of the revolution.
Directed by Dinos Aristidou
Ziggurat was a devised project on the theme of communication based on the story of the Tower of Babel. Over 100 children from schools around Manchester worked with artists from the Lowry’s partner companies to create the piece.
Written by Phyllis Nagy
Directed by Guy Holloway
Performed at Abraham Moss Theatre and Robert Powell Theatre, Salford
Neverland is the tale of a family on the edge both geographically and mentally.
Written by Christina Katic
Directed by Bill Hopkinson
Performed in Space 1, Contact Theatre
It concentrated on families in Manchester and the Balkans at the start of the ’90s as former friends become feuding neighbours and bitter enemies as they are forced to take sides.
Performed at Bolton Octagon, Studio & Mainhouse
Directed by Pete Smith
I was involved in the devising process of this health and education project. I worked closely with the young people as they created their characters which made designing the costume very straightforward. The set had to be suitable for both spaces at the Octagon.
Adapted by Ted Hughes
Directed by Bill Hopkinson
Performed in Royal Exchange Studio
The studio was set up in traverse with the forest at one end and the homestead at the other.
Written by Steven Berkoff
Director by Bill Hopkinson
Performed at The Library Theatre, Manchester
The design was inspired by the work of the artist Christo to give the feel that everything was on hold, preserved for when the men returned from war.