Maria Liljefors - Costume Designer

Portrait and interview - 1994

Photographed with her grand-daughter Scarlett, Maria came to costume design via her first love, namely dance, which is the reason she came to England from her native Sweden.  She studied ballet and contemporary dance with Audrey de Vos, Sigurd Leeder and Hilde Holger in London during the late 50s, before returning to Sweden to choreograph, dance and teach.  The longing to return to London materialised two years later and saw Maria – teaching, dancing and forming a small modern dance company.

After the arrival of her children, Maria settled in Somerset where she still taught dance, but gradually turned her hand to designing and making costumes.  Eventually, she took on the job at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter in 1973 as wardrobe supervisor.  During her time there, she also designed for many shows.  Although mainly self-taught, Maria has learned her craft from attending courses, i.e. in cutting, period costume, millinery, mask-making, make-up and hair etc.

Maria left the Northcott Theatre in 1979 to take up a post at Dartington College teaching costume design and production, and also supervising the costume department.  By the time she left in1992, she had created a costume department which became the envy of other drama colleges; an extensive costume range, superb wash and dyeing facilities, and best of all - a well-equipped production studio, where students could realise their designs.

Although working with the students on their productions was very fulfilling and creative, Maria received more and more outside commissions, both designing and/or making for other designers, and she left Dartington to go completely freelance.  She now works mainly in London but also, when she can, from her home in the centre of Totnes.

Her costume work for other designers includes musicals Buddy, Tommy Steele shows, Annie Get Your Gun, The Sound of Music, Little Night Music and Sophisticated Ladies, to name but a few.  There have also been numerous pantos and shows for the Theatre Royal in Plymouth destined for tours and the West End.

Maria made Nigel Terry’s and Tilda Swinton’s period costumes in Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio.  For the same designer – Sandy Powell, she also made costumes for the film Orlando.

Her own design work includes: - 'A Breath of Fresh Air', a drama documentary on the Newlyn School of Painters for TSW; 'January', a dance piece by American choreographer Viola Farba for TSW; 'Treasures of the Mind Lord' which was a mixed media show, performed at Teatro Flaiano in Rome; 'Real Adventures', choreography by Mary Fulkerson and performed in New York and Europe; a children’s drama-thriller series currently showing on ITV; and 'Pirates', a children’s comedy series for the BBC which will be screened this autumn.

Update: Maria recently designed and made the costumes for both puppets and puppeteers in 'Sir Fool’s Quest' by Adrian Mitchell, which is currently touring England and was recently performed at The Barn Theatre, Dartington.