Go Behind The Scenes of Bamburgh Castle's Christmas Display
Acclaimed theatrical designer Charlotte Lloyd Webber and her award-winning event design team are bringing another fairytale-worthy Christmas display to Bamburgh Castle
This will be the fifth year that Charlotte Lloyd Webber and her team at CLW Event Design have transformed Bamburgh Castle for Christmas. Bamburgh Castle was one of the first clients to approach the team, based on the work they had been doing at Castle Howard, and Living North has been checking in on the team each year since their first display at the castle. From a project inspired by the castle’s 3,000-year history and past as seat of the Saint Kings of Northumbria to a display inspired by myths and legends, there have been a variety of creative themes, and this year sees a reimagining of our favourite fairytales.
CLW Event Design are producing an anthology of different fairytales. ‘Bamburgh Castle for us is an interesting one,’ says Adrian. ‘Our raison d'être as an event design company is that we make sure that every event we design fits well with the environment that it’s going into, even if we do a slight repeat on a theme. We do think sustainably, so if we can reutilise props from a previous production we will do that, but we will always think about how that would work in a particular space. Bamburgh [Castle] is quite a tricky one because although it was rebuilt in the Victorian period, it has got that whole medieval castle atmosphere so not everything works with it. You’ve got to work quite cleverly to make sure it feels like its embedded in a way that’s appropriate to the history of the property.’
This Christmastime, Bamburgh Castle will become a tropical Christmas paradise with glistening gold, colourful jewels and magical adventures inspired by childhood stories. ‘In some of the smaller rooms we’re presenting Rumpelstiltskin and the story of him spinning straw to gold,’ says Adrian. ‘We’re also telling the story of the Golden Goose with its sticky feathers. That’s a very fun and playful one. There’s a lot of gold going on within the decorative scheme.’
Visitors to the castle marvel at the grandeur of the impressive King’s Hall. ‘In that huge, beautiful space we are creating the entire deck of the Jolly Roger from Peter Pan, and we’ll have a full pirate ship that can be interacted with,’ Adrian adds. ‘We’re also creating a miniature version of Treasure Island where X marks the spot and that’s fun for Christmas because it’s a bit bonkers – tropical Treasure Island landscape meets Christmas with glittery parrots and toucans. We’ll then lead visitors back into the world of Captain Hook because we felt like, although we have done the deck of the Jolly Roger, the Billiard Room was just too good an environment not to create Captain Hook’s cabin. Creating that is going to be a lot of fun. I always enjoy having a lot of fun in laying on a very over-the-top scheme in that particular room and this year will be no different. We think Captain Hook probably embraces Christmas very wholeheartedly and in a very camp fashion.’
Huge displays like these don’t come without their challenges. ‘When we move into the Court Room we’re creating Jack’s beanstalk,’ says Adrian. ‘Trying to get a five-and-a-half-metre beanstalk through two very small doorways and up a steep staircase is going to take a feat of engineering shall we say! You have to remember we only have three to four days to bring the whole installation in – that’s the only time that the castle is closed to the public to allow that. So as much as we possibly can, it has to be pre-dressed and then it very quickly gets assembled and bolted together. The biggest challenges we’re going through at our headquarters in York currently are some of the things we’ve left ‘til the end, which are the trickiest things as always. We’re problem solving those things out on the yard. It’s all coming together though. The other big challenge is the set of the Jolly Roger because of the scale of it. We have to have a very specific support for the masts and sails, and it’s about how we fill that space. We’re thinking about who we’ve got on the team who’s happy to be up a scaffold doing that work. Dave O’Donnell, our senior designer, is leading the installation and he’ll be there on ground level directing so he needs to feel super confident that he’s got people who can move fast to get the installation done.
‘I think there’ll be a lot of broad smiles because we are being a little bit cheeky and playful. There’ll be wow-factor and we’ve even got crazy decorations going into a Poseidon underwater treasure experience where we’re having a full-scale mermaid asleep in her bed chamber. That’s a particular favourite for me. We do like to ensure that visitors can have a keepsake from the visit so we have something special in the bauble shop that they can take away to remember their visit. I’m very happy I’ve been able to bring in some themed items for that.’
Adrian says the aspect he loves most about his job is making each display different, and bigger and better, each year. ‘It’s the reinvention and the playfulness of what we’re able to do,’ he explains. ‘Bamburgh Castle has such incredible space to work in. The team are incredible and absolutely embrace whatever it is we’re suggesting and rarely come back with requests for any changes when we present designs. I think that’s because we have a very strong understanding of how the spaces work and how the visitors interact with the spaces overall. There’s a great sense of confidence working across both our teams. It’s an absolute pleasure to work in the space and it means we can take things and really roll with them, being super creative and having a lot of fun to bring the space to life for Christmas.’
Having spent five years working on the displays for Bamburgh Castle, it’s obvious to the team at CLW Event Design that the castle is a special place for visitors, especially at Christmastime. ‘The castle is special all year round,’ says Adrian. ‘It’s just so dramatic. From the exterior as you look at it from beachside or landside, it’s just such an incredible and imposing-looking building and I think that excites people from the get-go. I think its history has inspiration for many people. It is like a fairytale medieval castle. That sense of kicking off the Christmas season by seeing something that transports you somewhere and maybe excites you about your own Christmas is very much what we’re trying to do. Our aim is to make sure every visitor ends the experience with a smile on their face.’
