Winter's Tale, 1986: Royal Shakespeare Company.

A typical Velázquez effect in Shakespeare production: a royal court scene with multiple groupings and perspectives. Notice particularly the suspended mirror above and to the rear which gives the audience a different perspective, and the reflecting floor which has a similar effect.

"We first see the court of Sicilia through a white gauze to the haunting minor key tinkling of Nigel Hess's wintry music. Regency costumes are white - tail coats boots and all. The floor is covered by a vast polar bear skin, whose huge head glares out at the audience, the play's softness and savagery personified." Martin Hoyle, Financial Times 1.5.86 The Winter's Tale: Hands & Howland, Royal Shakespeare Company, April 1986. (ahds.ac.uk/performingarts)