Set & Costume Designer, Blueprint R&D

Concrete Youth, an award-winning charity dedicated to increasing cultural provision for people labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities, is seeking a skilled and passionate Set & Costume Designer for the research & development phase of our current major project, Blueprint.

About Concrete Youth

Concrete Youth is an award-winning charity dedicated to increasing cultural provision for people labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Since our formation in 2019, we have engaged over 10,500 audience members across five continents, creating inclusive and sensory experiences that champion accessibility and creativity. Our work is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to engage with the arts in meaningful and empowering ways.

Our touring department specialises in delivering multi-sensory theatre productions that captivate and inspire audiences labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities. In 2024, we made history with the launch of Sensory Cinders, the first-ever West End production created specifically for audiences labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities, solidifying our reputation in inclusive theatre.

Our education department has been recognised as a leader in sensory education, winning two consecutive Education & Training Awards for Best Sensory Education. Our programmes are designed to provide inclusive, educational, and high-quality services to schools, organisations, and communities. We deliver impactful learning opportunities that nurture creativity and inclusion while empowering the next generation of theatre-makers and audiences.

As a research-led organisation, our senior management team are also academic researchers, combining their scholastic expertise with their roles at Concrete Youth to deliver work that is not only innovative but also deeply relevant to inclusive and sensory practice. This commitment to research underpins everything we do, ensuring that our artistic and educational outputs remain at the forefront of inclusive practice.

Concrete Youth is a four-day working week and Living Wage employer, and a PiPA Charter Partner.

About Blueprint

Blueprint is an ambitious, research-led project that reimagines how sensory theatre is made with and for audiences labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Developed by Concrete Youth in collaboration with co-researchers labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their support networks, Blueprint sets out to build a bespoke, audience-led model of sensory theatre that adapts to everyone’s unique needs, preferences, and best ways of engaging. Drawing on years of acclaimed national touring and award-winning work, the project combines creative innovation with academic practice to place the audience at the heart of every decision.

Led by Concrete Youth’s Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Daniel Swift MBE, Blueprint forms part of his doctoral research at Rose Bruford College and the University of East London. This study informs the project’s inclusive methodology, centring co-authorship with people labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities to shape the work from within.

As Concrete Youth continues to pioneer new models of inclusive theatre, Blueprint represents a pivotal opportunity to explore bold ideas and redefine inclusive practice. The project is now moving towards a research and development phase, where its findings will begin to be implemented into the creation of a new sensory theatre production for the first time. Its findings will directly inform the company’s artistic direction and contribute to the wider conversation on accessibility and co-creation across the theatre sector.

Blueprint is supported by public funding from Arts Council England and Hull City Council.

About the Role

Concrete Youth is looking for an exceptional Set & Costume Designer to support the development of the production’s visual design. The successful candidate will be responsible for the set and costume design of the production. The candidate will also be responsible for making/sourcing costume for the show and working alongside the set making team for the production.

Responsibilities:

• To design the sets and costume for the production in full;

• To make and/or source costumes for the production, or source a costume maker to undertake the role.

• Ensuring all sets are incredibly tourable;

• Ensuring all sets and costumes are sustainable for long performance periods;

• To work with the creative team to realise the vision for the production;

• Provide full designs and briefs to the set making team and collaborate with them throughout;

• To make and/or source all costumes for the production

• Working with the set making team to design and oversee the purchase and/or making of sets;

• To fully brief the stage management team on the set up and striking of sets in a safe and efficient way;

• To fully brief the stage management team on the maintenance of costumes on tour;

• To participate in design and production meetings as required during production periods

• To attend technical and dress rehearsals and take responsibility for issues concerning set and costume design

• When designing the set, to consider the different venue spaces the performances will be shown in and design a set that can be scaled up and down

• To make a site visit to the locations if required

The ideal candidate will:

• Professional experience designing sets and costume for theatre

• Experience in designing set and costumes for audiences labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities

• Be able to work to a brief creatively and effectively

• Significant experience working to design budgets

• Open and honest communication

• A positive attitude with a high level of self-motivation and ability to work on your initiative

Fee

In your expression of interest, please outline your pay expectations for design. For transparency, our budget for fee currently sits around £4,000-£5,000. Set making will be undertake by an external company. The set will be designed for small-midscale venues and costumes will be required for a cast of four.

How to Apply

If you are passionate about making a difference through sensory theatre and meet the qualifications, we would love to hear from you! We are currently accepting expressions of interest for this role. Please add your CV and your expression of interest in the application form to the right by midday on Friday 17th October. If you would prefer to submit your expression of interest via a method that is more accessible to you, please email it to jobs@concreteyouth.co.uk. Please do not send your expression of interest to this email address unless this is the case.

UPON SUBMISSION, THE FORM WILL INDICATE THAT THE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST HAS BEEN RECEIVED. IF YOU DO NOT SEE THIS MESSAGE, YOUR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED. IN THE EVENT OF THIS, PLEASE EMAIL YOUR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST TO JOBS@CONCRETEYOUTH.CO.UK. Please do not send your expression of interest to this email address unless this is the case.

Our audience comes from all walks of life, and so do we. We work with great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for inclusive theatre, you will find a home at Concrete Youth.

Our audience comes from all walks of life, and so do we. We work with great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for inclusive theatre, you will find a home at Concrete Youth.