Helen Scott On Designing King James’ Bedrooms for Starz’s ‘Mary & George’

The bedroom of a king is a prominent focus for Starz’s Mary & George. Many characters long to enter that chamber and others need to remain in that space in order to greedily hold onto their position and power. For Starz’s landmark lust-fest Mary & George, production designer Helen Scott not only made different bedrooms fit for King James, but she created a world fit for intrigue and the struggle for power.

One cannot help but notice that there are a lot of translucent materials in not just the costuming but the sets. There might be a drawn curtain made of fabric that conceals just enough but we can see the shapes of people or movement behind it. Especially in the first few episodes of the series, Scott knows how to lean into the series’ flirtation with the audience by showing us just enough.

“Annie [Symons] designed the costume to show how everything was presentational, sensual, and provocative,” Scott says. :That’s how it appears from the paintings and the experts who came and spoke to us. With the translucent material, it’s about showing but not showing. For the production designer, we had some parameters for each location and that had to do with color, texture, and light which was to visually describe to help show this rise of power. That play on materials came in a lot when it came to James and his frivolity. An amazing thing about that court is that he was absolutely going for it in his sexual relationships. That’s what those textures say.”

James’ bedroom is not just a place for sex, but also negotiations, and Scott creates an entire world inside James’ chambers. The red on red on red walls hint at lust {or even blood?) with the large bed being the main event. It’s a sensual space that transforms with who enters and what goes on in there.

“James’ bedroom is the pinnacle of indulgence and extravagance,” she says. “Oliver [Hermanus] does a lot of strong tone boards in terms of color, shape, and texture, and they had a lot of blocks them. He really enjoys fashion and shape, and we all love the red on the red on the red. That room says that anything can happen here, and anything will happen here. Keep your eyes open if you step over the threshold. The crew loved being in that room–it was a set–but everyone just loved being in there. It felt sumptuous. It’s also because a lot of the season was filmed on location. When you are in Tudor, Jacobean, or Elizabethan homes and houses, most of the paneling is just wood. You can’t touch that since they are very precious and they are listed. It was great to be able to throw a strong color to that room, and I loved doing that. I tried out loads of reds on those walls.”

By contrast, James’ Theobald’s House is more connected with the earth with its browns and greens. When he occupies that space, he feels more at peace and you can see how Tony Curran’s body language changes when he enters. King James not only has a variety in his lust but also how he wants to live.

“He has also different presentations, and that house is the place he likes to be,” she says. “It was his hunting ground, and he can feel more like himself there. That’s why George builds his palace there in the forest. That’s more of James’ soul, and that’s where the love and affection is realized. Before that it’s very lust-based, and it’s a good example of how we have to discern between lust and love. That’s what the story is ultimately about in the end.”

As George cares for James towards the end of his life, he creates an outdoor palace for the king. By selecting specific items, Scott was able to transform the palace grounds into a more loving palace chamber. It’s a remarkably loving gesture that reinforces the love between these two men.

“The back story of that is that he put it together overnight, so we had to find a plausible balance of what he was able to achieve overnight with a few servants,” Scott says. “It has to look at something while they are in there, but it also has to burn while they were in there. It’s a complicated brief.”

Theatrical set when George sees James / what did theater look like back then / blood red some golds
In terms of seduction, there was no way that James could’ve resisted George after he saw him perform in a dance in the court for the king. The swirling red color of the costumes mingles gorgeously with the whites and golds in the design of the set. Scott wanted to cast a spell on King James by creating an enchanting space.

“It’s quite magical,” she says. “It’s a stretch from what they might have had back then. They didn’t have lighting tricks in the way they might have, and they more mechanical scene changes. Something would come up from underneath the stage or from the gods above, so we did cheat a little bit. We had to do it fast quickly on camera, so we went from an underground feel to something that was ethereal and gold. We did that with lighting to help the mood and make it more of a make-believe realm. It had to look romantic and beautiful. James had to get lost in that dream of seeing George for the first time. We had to create a romantic moment, and that was great fun to do.”

Mary & George is streaming via Starz.