Set design revolves around the pub

ONE of the world’s most acclaimed set and costume designers, Corkman Bob Crowley was a mere five-time Tony Award winner before he signed up to design Once.

The hit musical would see him pick up a sixth. The show’s dreamy, versatile pub set came together very intuitively, he recalls.

“The space that we initially booked to perform the show already had a bar in it, because the venue was also used as a nightclub,” he says. “So I thought ‘well, why don’t we hold on to that idea?’ It was a good way into the show. And the bar seemed like a natural place for people to fall in and out of love, to tell stories, sing songs, laugh and cry.”