Youngest Designer (Press, 13 January 1968)

Derek Jarman, a 25-year-old stage designer of New Zealand heritage, has gained recognition for his work on the new ballet "Jazz Calendar" by Frederick Ashton at Covent Garden, becoming the youngest designer ever employed by the Royal Ballet. Praised by the ballet critic of "The Times" as a "brilliant discovery," Jarman initially had not planned to pursue stage design but was focused on painting, having studied at the Slade until last year. He views painting and stage design as interconnected, noting that many influential stage sets have been created by painters like Picasso, Gabo, and Matisse. For "Jazz Calendar," Jarman’s designs reflect a theme based on the nursery rhyme "Monday’s child, Tuesday’s child ...", featuring striking and unconventional elements. His set includes an oversized red hoop, a mirror mosaic, a large triangle of clear perspex spheres, and a gradient pyramid that shifts from navy to light blue. Notably, his design for "Friday’s child," associated with "loving and giving," includes a red-and-white love-knot. Despite his evident success in stage design, Jarman remains more passionate about painting. He had exhibited at the annual London show “The Young Contemporaries” the previous year and is exploring ideas for 'multiples,' which are art pieces meant for mass production at affordable prices. Some of his inventive concepts include a foot-square box with coloured drinking straws intended to be shaken into various patterns on specific dates, and a "commuter case"—a miniature suitcase designed for urban dwellers longing for the countryside, lined with grass on the inside.

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