The Cortège

Creative Direction, Fabrication, Set and Prop Design

For the first large-scale production of The Cortège, Brilliant Work brought PBZ in to help translate show creator Jeff Hull’s vision into an immersive ceremonial world built to be experienced in the round.

The starting point was four reference images. PBZ responded with rounds of original conceptual sketches, working with Jeff until the visual direction was right. Our initial scope was to integrate eight 35-foot lighting towers into the show’s handmade, scavenged aesthetic. As the team’s confidence in our work grew, so did the project.

We concealed the front-of-house booth inside an ornate travelling caravan, then developed lanterns for three principal characters, wheeled debris piles for the opening sequence, four spice and product carts for the Silk Road segment, hidden instrument cases for the musicians, and flagpoles around the venue. Each piece had to feel as though it belonged to the world while still working quickly and reliably in a live show.

PBZ fabricated and installed the full scope, then stayed on site through several weeks of rehearsals to make edits and solve new problems as the production developed. We returned after the final performance to strike the work.

The production infrastructure did not sit behind the experience. It became part of the story.