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DESIGN PORTFOLIO
VALASSIA BARBOUTI
In the Night Time (Before the Sun Rises)
“Tell us what it is that makes you cry.”
A man and woman have a child. It’s the middle of the night and she won’t stop crying. As exhaustion turns to hallucination, fairy tales collide with the 24-hour news cycle and a fractured world breaks through from the shadows.
This darkly funny and poetic debut play from acclaimed, award-winning writer Nina Segal (Cow|Deer & Associate Playwright at The Royal Court) transforms one sleepless night into an intimate yet epic portrait of parenthood, anxiety and the stories we tell to survive.
A man and woman have a child. It’s the middle of the night and she won’t stop crying. As exhaustion turns to hallucination, fairy tales collide with the 24-hour news cycle and a fractured world breaks through from the shadows.
This darkly funny and poetic debut play from acclaimed, award-winning writer Nina Segal (Cow|Deer & Associate Playwright at The Royal Court) transforms one sleepless night into an intimate yet epic portrait of parenthood, anxiety and the stories we tell to survive.
The History of Mr Polly
Desperate times for Mr Polly!
He’s stuck in a marriage with his cousin and dragged down by their failing shop. He detests them both. How did he let his life get so intolerable?
Was it his failure to make his own choices? His escapism and wanderlust? Or, inspired by the books he so avidly reads, falling head over heels for the unattainable Christabel?
Whatever, he’s reached the point where drastic measures are called for. What else can he do but burn everything down?
Based on H.G. Wells’ comedy of manners, this is an evening of tragicomic, tuneful teasing about the lives of the petit bourgeoisie.
For everyone who knows what it is to have a dream come to nothing.
The production is presented as a staged performance, conducted by the composer, directed by Stuart Barker, with piano reduction of the full score.
He’s stuck in a marriage with his cousin and dragged down by their failing shop. He detests them both. How did he let his life get so intolerable?
Was it his failure to make his own choices? His escapism and wanderlust? Or, inspired by the books he so avidly reads, falling head over heels for the unattainable Christabel?
Whatever, he’s reached the point where drastic measures are called for. What else can he do but burn everything down?
Based on H.G. Wells’ comedy of manners, this is an evening of tragicomic, tuneful teasing about the lives of the petit bourgeoisie.
For everyone who knows what it is to have a dream come to nothing.
The production is presented as a staged performance, conducted by the composer, directed by Stuart Barker, with piano reduction of the full score.
JULIE
Set & Costume Design, April 2026
August Strindberg’s Miss Julie finds a new home in contemporary London.
Wild and newly single, Julie throws a late night party. In the kitchen, Jean and Kristina clean up as the celebration heaves above them.
Crossing the threshold, Julie initiates a power game with Jean. It descends into a savage fight for survival.
Fuelled by social division, Strindberg’s masterpiece remains shocking and fiercly relevant in this new version by Polly Stenham (That Face, Neon Demon)
August Strindberg’s Miss Julie finds a new home in contemporary London.
Wild and newly single, Julie throws a late night party. In the kitchen, Jean and Kristina clean up as the celebration heaves above them.
Crossing the threshold, Julie initiates a power game with Jean. It descends into a savage fight for survival.
Fuelled by social division, Strindberg’s masterpiece remains shocking and fiercly relevant in this new version by Polly Stenham (That Face, Neon Demon)
FAR AWAY
Set & Costume Design, January 2026
Set in a timeless dystopian landscape, this design for Far Away envisions a world where the boundaries between human, animal, and nature have collapsed into a state of perpetual war. Inspired by the play’s final monologue, the stage becomes a supernatural terrain in black and white -resembling a silent film photograph- where rivers, mist, and bodies form a shifting topography of conflict. Set and costumes are conceived as a single organic system, made from shared materials so that the environment and the characters appear as parts of the same living body. At the centre of this world lies Joan’s transformation: her journey from innocence to awareness unfolds through a landscape that clings to her like a second skin, echoing the act of shedding and renewal. As the play progresses, the design gradually reveals a reality where the idea of “sides” dissolves, and everything -objects, elements, and living beings- has become implicated in the machinery of war.
Set in a timeless dystopian landscape, this design for Far Away envisions a world where the boundaries between human, animal, and nature have collapsed into a state of perpetual war. Inspired by the play’s final monologue, the stage becomes a supernatural terrain in black and white -resembling a silent film photograph- where rivers, mist, and bodies form a shifting topography of conflict. Set and costumes are conceived as a single organic system, made from shared materials so that the environment and the characters appear as parts of the same living body. At the centre of this world lies Joan’s transformation: her journey from innocence to awareness unfolds through a landscape that clings to her like a second skin, echoing the act of shedding and renewal. As the play progresses, the design gradually reveals a reality where the idea of “sides” dissolves, and everything -objects, elements, and living beings- has become implicated in the machinery of war.
GREASE THE MUSICAL
Musical theatre in Dubai Opera, November 2025
Beloved by audiences around the world, Grease is more than a musical: it’s a global pop culture phenomenon that defined an era. From Hollywood to Broadway and now to Dubai, it tells a story of young love, teenage dreams, and the irresistible sound of rock ’n’ roll.
Presented by Dubai Opera in collaboration with MAC Global, this spectacular stage production brings the spirit of Rydell High to life with vibrant costumes, thrilling choreography, and the timeless charm that has captivated generations.
Beloved by audiences around the world, Grease is more than a musical: it’s a global pop culture phenomenon that defined an era. From Hollywood to Broadway and now to Dubai, it tells a story of young love, teenage dreams, and the irresistible sound of rock ’n’ roll.
Presented by Dubai Opera in collaboration with MAC Global, this spectacular stage production brings the spirit of Rydell High to life with vibrant costumes, thrilling choreography, and the timeless charm that has captivated generations.
BLUE/ORANGE
Theatre play at OSO Arts Centre, London, May 2026
“Raw, tense and full of dark humour” The Spy In The Stalls
Race, madness and medical ethics collide in Joe Penhall's exquisitely sharp, Olivier Award winning modern classic. This revival features new revisions in collaboration with the playwright, reimagining the junior psychiatrist as a young woman, adding resonance to the play's exploration of prejudice, power and identity.
“Raw, tense and full of dark humour” The Spy In The Stalls
Race, madness and medical ethics collide in Joe Penhall's exquisitely sharp, Olivier Award winning modern classic. This revival features new revisions in collaboration with the playwright, reimagining the junior psychiatrist as a young woman, adding resonance to the play's exploration of prejudice, power and identity.
BOATS
Installation in Wimbledon Theatre, February 2026
This installation responds to the escalating global displacement crisis reflected in recent UNHCR statistics, which reports 117.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide by mid-2025. As part of the piece, 500 handmade paper boats were created using quotes from A Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, transforming fragments of text into fragile vessels that symbolise migration, loss, hope and survival. The repetition of the boats evokes the overwhelming scale of displacement while also emphasising the individuality of each journey.
Through accumulation, material fragility, and spatial arrangement, the installation invites the audience to confront the human stories that exist behind global statistics.
This installation responds to the escalating global displacement crisis reflected in recent UNHCR statistics, which reports 117.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide by mid-2025. As part of the piece, 500 handmade paper boats were created using quotes from A Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, transforming fragments of text into fragile vessels that symbolise migration, loss, hope and survival. The repetition of the boats evokes the overwhelming scale of displacement while also emphasising the individuality of each journey.
Through accumulation, material fragility, and spatial arrangement, the installation invites the audience to confront the human stories that exist behind global statistics.
KABUL
TV mini series, March 2025
The Americans and their NATO allies have pledged to leave Afghanistan by 31 August. The Taliban offensive is advancing steadily towards the city. While personnel were preparing to leave, the Nazany family was in denial about the situation.
The Americans and their NATO allies have pledged to leave Afghanistan by 31 August. The Taliban offensive is advancing steadily towards the city. While personnel were preparing to leave, the Nazany family was in denial about the situation.
PLATEA ATTIKIS
Production design for Platea Attikis, February 2025
In an old apartment in central Athens, a couple refuses to renovate their home, clinging to the memories of the family they once raised there.
In an old apartment in central Athens, a couple refuses to renovate their home, clinging to the memories of the family they once raised there.
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