Marg Horwell has won a Tony Award for her costumes in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Photo: Dorian Gray play.
Wagga’s own Marg Horwell has claimed one of the performing arts’ biggest gongs at theatre’s night of nights, the Tony Awards.
Ms Horwell claimed the award for Best Costume Design of a Play for The Picture of Dorian Gray, starring fellow Australian and Succession star Sarah Snook, on a night that the seamstress described as “overwhelming and incredible”.
“It’s amazing to be welcomed here [at the Tonys] and for people to have given us a show like The Picture of Dorian Gray,” she said in an interview after the awards show.
“I was freaking out for the entire crew, it was amazing.
“I thanked everyone on our creative team. It is such a huge collaboration. Every single one has been nominated for a Tony tonight, that’s so special to us. It is indicative of how collaborative this process has been and how incredible this production is.”
Ms Horwell’s mother, Robyn, spoke about the incredible work creative arts students have done in major performing arts productions across the world, crediting Wagga icon Peter Cox and Kooringal High School as major contributors to her daughter’s success.
“Marg thought she was going to be an actress growing up,” Robyn said.
“When she was younger, she decided that she wanted to go to Kooringal High because it was the local school known for its dramatic arts.
“She then met Peter Cox, who is so well known around Wagga for his work in the dramatic and performing arts space.
“He really took Marg under his wing. He acknowledged that some people are more inclined to perform instead of writing or playing sports, and he saw that in Marg.
“After completing school, she went to the Victorian College of Arts, where she went for three years and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in performing arts and visual arts.”
Sarah Snook took to Instagram, applauding her friend and colleague, posting this image with the caption, “Wwwwwaaah!!! And Marg!! So Proud!” Photo: Sarah_Snook/Instagram.
Once she completed her bachelor’s degree, Ms Horwell realised she needed more practice working on costuming and creating patterns, resulting in her enrolling in a TAFE course.
“She said to me, ‘Mum, I think I’m going to have to go to TAFE!” Robyn said.
“She said, ‘I need to know how to make a pattern to make some clothes and costumes.’
“So that’s what she did. She started to design shows and build sets. I think it took 10 years before she was able to give up her day job, so to speak.
“She went out freelancing, met a few really great friends, and then some colleagues enabled her to branch out.
“She said that the biggest thing was being able to find your soul mate and work with the people that you love working with, and one of those people was Kip Williams, the director of Dorian Gray.
“He has become a very close friend, and they’ve travelled around the world and met up in different countries for a bunch of different shows.”
Another friend Ms Horwell has made along the way is the lead actress of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Sarah Snook, who also won a Tony, for Best Actress in a Play.
“I think when you work so closely with someone and for such a long period of time, because they’ve produced this show in Sydney and Melbourne and in London, so they’ve followed each other around for months, I think you do form a special bond,” Robyn said.
“When you’re clothing someone, there’s got to be a really good interaction because if something’s uncomfortable or breaking or doesn’t suit you, you’ve got to have that openness between the two to be able to discuss it.
“The two celebrated quite heavily, and I’ve heard there was quite a big after-party,” Robyn joked.
Ms Horwell’s work with Williams will continue as the pair will be collaborating on at least two more plays. The next production is set to be Dracula, starring Cynthia Erivo, known best for her role as Elphaba/The Wicked Witch of the West from the film adaptation of Wicked.
