I'm planning to replicate Little Nell's costume from the 1973 stage production in honor of the show's 50th anniversary tour this summer (I'll be seeing it in Swindon on Monday, August 28th). To be extra clear, I'm only concerned about Little Nell's costume in the 1973 production - no other year, no other performer.
Some issues I'm having are (1) the evolution of her costume, and (2) the scarcity of color photos. I may end up with something very close, but not entirely accurate. I'm okay with that.
Huge gratitude to Mark Jabara and his photos. Other photos have the credit tagged on them. I've tried to sort this as best as possible - I'm sure there are still mistakes. Just let me know (kindly) in the comments. Also huge thanks to Tony Pazuzu for his expertise and information!
Royal Court Upstairs (63 seats):
June 16 & 18, 1973
Previews at The Royal Court Theatre
June 19, 1973
Opens at The Royal Court Theatre
July 20, 1973
Closes at The Royal Court Theatre
The floor at the Royal Court Upstairs Theatre had a distinct medallion carpet pattern, and the screen behind them goes down to the floor. Julie Covington played Janet.
Little Nell's costume goes through some minor changes here. I'm most focused on the wide-striped pants. Not sure if the shoes she's wearing outside were the shoes she performed in.
Opens at Chelsea Classic Cinema
October 20, 1973
Closes at Chelsea
The floor at the Chelsea Classic looks to be a solid light color and there is a distinct gap between the floor and the screen (maybe 12"). Little Nell has a bow-tie and dark (black?) suspenders here. She also has fishnets under her glittery socks. Her shorts have glitzy, multi-colored thin stripes and seem to go down to her knee caps. There is still black over-shorts on top (and I think lots of sequins). Her tap shoes and sock garters look to be red.
These are definitely my favorite version of her shorts.
King's Road Theatre (500 seats)
November 3, 1973
March 31, 1979
The King's Road theatre went back to having a distinct carpet on the stage making some of those photos easy to recognize.
Nell's striped shorts are very fitted, and above the knee with a black waist-band and hem (no more over-shorts). The stripes are also further apart than the previous pair from Chelsea. This is my favorite version of her make-up.
