Creating New Worlds

Creating New Worlds

Mansfield's World Famous Theatre Designers

Detail of a set design for Julius Caesar

Detail of Carl Toms set design for Julius Caesar

In the 1940s, Mansfield College of Art taught two students who went on to have extremely successful careers as theatre designers: Carl Toms and Alan Tagg.

A costume design for a character wearing a sombrero

Carl Toms costume design for an unknown Central American character

 
Carl Toms was born in Kirkby-in-Ashfield in 1927, the son of a local tailoring couple. At age 14, he enrolled at Mansfield School of Art, where his teacher Hazel Hemsworth encouraged his interest in theatrical design. After serving in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps for the latter part of the Second World War, Carl went on to study at the Royal College of Arts and the Old Vic Theatre School, both in London. In 1952, he became assistant to Oliver Messel, another leading figure in 20th century stage design. 
 
Over the next decades Carl became an acclaimed designer for theatre, opera, ballet, television, and film. His film credits incorporate work on popular blockbusters, including costume design for Ursula Andress in ‘She’ and ‘The Vengeance of She’, and designing the famous fur bikini worn by Raquel Welch in ‘One Million Years B.C.’
 
In 1969, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his work on the Investiture ceremony of the Prince of Wales (later King Charles III), and he received various industry awards, including a 1975 Tony Award for set design on Sherlock Holmes and an Olivier award for the 1980-81 production of ‘The Provok’d Wife’ at the National Theatre.

The museum holds a number of costume and set designs by Carl Toms. Some of these were donated by Toms himself, while others come from private collections. We also have one costume design by Mansfield’s other famous theatre designer, Alan Tagg.

 

Alan Tagg was born in Sutton-in-Ashfield in 1928 and, like his contemporary and friend Carl Toms, studied at Mansfield College of Art and the Old Vic theatre school in London. He went on to become a renowned designer for theatre, working with The National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, amongst others.

He is particularly remembered for creating the sets for the 1956 John Osborne play ‘Look Back in Anger’, which were hailed as an innovative milestone in the look of modern theatre. He was in demand from both playwrights like Alan Aykbourn and actors including Laurence Olivier, Ingrid Berman, and Maggie Smith. He was nominated for a Tony award in 1967 for ‘Black Comedy’.

A costume design for an elaborate dress

Alan Tagg costume design labelled "Design for evening gown in net and velvet ribbon"

Carl Toms died in 1999. His obituary in The Guardian described him as “always impeccably turned out” and “quietly spoken”, noting that while he “worked obsessively hard” and could be unforthcoming about himself, he was also known for his love of parrots, many of which he kept at his house, “their bright plumage contrasting sharply with the sobriety of their master’s attire”.

Alan Tagg died three years after Carl Toms and is described as “very classy” in his Guardian obituary, which also notes “his long and loving relationship with his partner Charles”, and his love of painting.

Designs by Carl Toms in the Museum Collection

Set design for a scene in a medieval tavern

Carl Toms set design for "She Passed Through Lorraine"

 

 

This set design is one of the pieces donated to the museum by Carl Toms himself. It is for a play entitled "She Passed Through Lorraine - a comedy in three acts", which was written by Lionel Ramsey Hale (1909-1977) in 1932. The play follows a rural community in the aftermath of the execcution of Joan of Arc, who come to believe that she has returned to life and is staying amongst them. Toms created this design for a production of the play by the Penson Players at Mansfield Parish Church Hall in December 1949, and donated it to the museum the following year.

"Oedipus at Colonus" is a tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, who lived in Athens from around 496 BCE to around 405 BCE. It was one of the last plays he wrote, shortly before his death, and it was premiered posthumously in 401 BCE.

The museum collection contains three of Carl Toms' designs for this play - one set design and two costumes. The set is for a scene in a woodland clearing, with steps leading up to a small plateau featuring a bench beside a classical-style monumental slab showing a mounted horserider and topped with facing lions. The costumes are for 'Creon, King of Thebes' and 'Polynices, son of Oedipus'.

Costume design for a regal figure in robe, cloak and diadem

Carl Toms costume design for King Creon

 

Costume design for a youth in sandals, short skirt, and cloak

Carl Toms costume design for Polynices

Set design for a scene in a woodland clearing

Carl Toms set design for Oedipus at Colonus

 

Another play for which we have three of Carl Toms' designs is "Comus". This is a poetic masque play, written by John Milton (1608-1674). Its premier performance was in 1634, at Ludlow Castle, for John Egerton, the Earl of Bridgwater. It featured his sons and his daughter in the roles of the two brothers and their sister, The Lady. The museum collection contains Toms' design for the costumes of the two brothers, and for two of the sets - the wild wood setting for the first scene, and the palace of Comus, where the second scene plays out.

Set design for a path through a wood

Carl Toms design for the Wild Wood

Set design for a banqueting hall in a palace

Carl Toms design for Comus' palace

Costume design for two youths in cavalier-style outfits

Carl Toms costume design for the two brothers

Another pair of costumes are shown in this design for the characters Rosalind and Orlando in 'As You Like It' by William Shakespeare (1564-1616). It was written around 1599, and published in the posthumous First Folio in 1623. Rosalind and Orlando are the romantic lead characters in the play.

Costume designs for a male and female couple

Carl Toms costume designs for Rosalind and Orlando

This design for a costume for Jane Eyre shows both the front and back of the dress, much like the evening dress design by Alan Tagg above. 'Jane Eyre' is a novel by Charlotte Bronte, published in 1847 under the pseudonym 'Currer Bell'. Since its publication it has been adapted many times for theatre, radio, television, and film.

Costume design for a full, black dress, shown from both front and back

Carl Toms costume design for Jane Eyre

There are also two ballet costumes included in the Carl Toms designs at Mansfield Museum.

One is labelled as "Design for Prince Siegfried in 'Swan Lake' Act 4". The famous ballet of Swan Lake was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) between 1875 and 1876, premiering in 1877. The story contains traditional elements of Russian and German folk tales, and revolves around a beautiful princess, Odette, who has been transformed into a white swan. Prince Siegfried is the male romantic lead character, who falls in love with Odette.

Costume design for a male ballerina wearing white tights with red velvet jacket and hat

Carl Toms costume design for Prince Siegfried

Costume for a male ballerina with striking black and white outfit and makeup

Carl Toms illustration of costume for Death

The other ballet costume seems to be a reworking of an existing idea. It is labelled "Algeranoff as 'Death' in 'Everyman'". 'Algeranoff' refers to Harcourt Algeranoff (1903-1967), a renowned ballet dancer, choreographer and dance teacher. Early in his career, he joined Anna Pavlova's company, changing his name from Harcourt Algernon Leighton Essex to the more Russian-sounding Algeranoff. In 1943 he joined The International Ballet, a company formed by Mora Inglesby two years earlier, and in that same year they premiered a ballet of 'Everyman', choreographed by Inglesby to music by Strauss. The ballet was based on an anonymous morality play of the same name, written around 1530. It follows the character of Everyman as he journeys through life, encountering personifications of various deities and apects, including Death; a part danced by Harold Turner.

Find Out More

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London hold a large collection of designs by Carl Toms, as well as costumes made to his designs. Click here to browse their Carl Toms items

Alan Tagg's archive is held at the University of Bristol. It is catalogued on their website here: Alan Tagg Archive

Obituaries of the two designers can also be found in the online archives of The Guardian newspaper. They provide a wealth of information about their lives, as well as memories from those who knew them:

Carl Toms' obituary

Alan Tagg's obituary

Anja Thompson-Rohde, Collections and Interpretation Officer

Uploaded 27 February 2026