Naomi Day

Costume with Textiles BA(Hons)

My Final Major Project is based the book of poems, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” [T.S. Eliot] also taking influences, themes, and characters from the stage adaptation, “Cats, The Musical”.
My adaptation is set in 1940’s wartime Britain, when the original book was written. I was particularly interested in exploring this area of history, and was drawn to the challenge of adapting this selection of light-hearted poems about cats into a more serious setting with deeper underlying themes.
Recycling and reusing were a key component of my final project. I wanted to avoid buying anything brand new including fabric, paper, and stationary. I bought the majority of my sampling fabric in charity shops and made the most of paper, paint, and fabric I already had. As my project progressed, I noticed that this attitude towards recycling linked well with my theme of Wartime “Make Do and Mend”.
I have loved working in the theatre industry over the past four years alongside undertaking my Costume with Textiles Degree. Working backstage has always been a dream of mine from a young age and being able to build a career around that has been, and will continue to be, magic.