About
Isobel Hardcastle is a London-based performance designer and maker.
She specialises in set and costume for theatre, with hopes of expanding her work to include projects within film, television, music, dance and fashion.
She studied (BA) Theatre Design at UAL: Wimbledon College of the Arts, graduating in 2025.
Isobel is particularly interested in maximalist design and its role in visual storytelling to convey a characters thoughts, feelings and journey through the set and costumes. She is inspired by the chaotic yet comforting environments these characters confine themselves to, whether thats their bedrooms and living spaces or local communal areas that they gravitate towards. Her designs are typically grounded in reality with an emphasis on the details as she strives to produce work that reflects the voices and experiences of a diverse range of communities.
Stemming for her adoration for video games, Isobel is also not afraid to experiment with blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, incorporating magical and supernatural elements into her work.
Isobel is a hands on designer, with experience in set construction, set painting, prop-making, costume-making and sourcing furniture, costume, props and textiles.
Outside of her practice, Isobel engages in a number of creative activities and projects such as crochet, sewing, collage, graphic design and photography, which all serve as further inspiration for her work.
What Is Perfection Anyway?
a theatre performance exploring feminism and the effects of misogyny on mental healththis was a collaboration between myself and a third year acting student
written + performed by freya todd
set + costume by isobel hardcastle
performed in the wimbledon college of the arts theatre
Bitch
a theatre performance exploring misogyny in the chinese languagethis was a collaboration between myself and a masters acting student
written + performed by ernou zhou
set + costume by isobel hardcastle
performed in the wimbledon college of the arts theatre
photography by orlando callegaro
Metamorphosis
a speculative design of kafka’s metamorphosisinspired by biological contamination + utilising crochet design within theatre
scale model with set + costume sketches
designed for the dorfman at the national theatre
Moving Day
a collaborative performance exploring grief + complex familial dynamicsinspired by kafka’s metamorphosis
this was a collaboration between myself and a group of second year theatre designers
written by collaborative group
performed by lil woods, kiran benawra + douglas clarke-wood
set + costume by collaborative group
performed in the wimbledon college of the arts
Justice For Marie Antoinette
an immersive performance exploring the consequences of female ragethis was a collaboration between myself and a group of second year costume + acting students
choreographed + performed by ciara galway + sophie williams
set designed by isobel hardcastle
costume designed by nadia derry-third + amy nicholson
performed at wimbledon college of the arts
photography by amy nicholson