Mythic Reinvention: 50 years of Costume and Craft - Review

In celebration of 50 years of the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester, a free exhibition invites audiences to explore how history can be reimagined through storytelling in costume and craft.  

Mythic Reinvention: 50 years of Costume and Craft draws on the theatre’s vast 25,000 piece costume archive, collated over five decades of performances, including costumes worn by Dame Helen Mirren, Don Warrington, Andrew Garfield, Sir Tom Courtenay, Maxine Peake and Suranne Jones.  

Curated by award-winning set and costume designer Leslie Travers, the exhibition gives a unique insight into the artistry that helps reinvent stories for every new generation and shows how costume can still hold up a mirror to how we live today. 

It was a privilege to explore the carefully exquisite exhibition through decades of talent being explored and placed together to create a beautiful space. Following the red rope around the theatre, pieces have been placed to complement each other and showcase designs from multiple productions.  

As time has changed society, the exhibition collates different costumes and accessories to showcase how theatre has developed alongside society, highlighting how different generations have used costume art for storytelling. It is both fascinating and thought-provoking to see how this art has been used to portray society over half a century of change.  And as curator Leslie Travers explains, this look at the past also holds with it a glimpse of the future: 

“We are exhibiting costumes which we will reuse and reimagine,” he says. “It’s been thrilling going through the history of this incredible building and in the craft that has gone into costume. The costume is intrinsic within the production and its space especially with its 360 immersive experience. Even if you haven’t seen the shows the costumes are just beautiful to look it. It is inspiring to feel that new generations are coming into theatre and to show them that they’re a part of this history”.  

Walking around the exhibition, there is work from multiple productions including pieces from The Rivals dated back to 1976, which is the first production to be performed at the venue. Being able to walk around the pieces and experience the details in front of you reveals something of the time and effort put into the productions. Garments from Romeo and Juliet, in 2005, starring Andrew Garfield and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are displayed alongside those from the theatre’s 2023 production, starring Conor Glean and Shalisha James-Davis showing the development of design and craft in approaching the same Shakespearean text. 

The exhibition also explores how the costumes work within the theatre’s immersive in-the-round staging to bring characters to life, where details are viewed up close by an audience watching the actors from every angle. Throughout the exhibition there is clear representation of this with explanations to how the costume department uses this to their advantage.  

Alongside this, the exhibition is immersive with the option to wear headphones to listen to artists talk about working at the Royal Exchange and to hear stories from those who created the garments in front of you. When walking around it feels as if you are stepping into a magical wardrobe and the environment only enhances this. Being able to watch videos from artists involved and to hear their voices enables a wider understanding of the process of theatre and costume design that is bound to entrance theatregoers, designers and fashionistas alike. 

Mythic Reinvention: 50 years of Costume and Craft, a free exhibition at The Royal Exchange Theatre, runs from 16 September to 15 November 2026.