ASMR at the museum | Conserving Vivien Leigh's Cleopatra Cloak | V&A

// Listen with headphones for best experience //

Follow Senior Textile Conservator Susana Fajardo as she works on a cloak worn by Vivien Leigh for her performance as Cleopatra in Shakespeare's play 'Antony and Cleopatra', at the St. James's Theatre in 1951.

Sound designer and performance-maker Julie Rose Bower has documented Susana’s meticulous steps using ambisonic sound, letting us get closer to the object than ever before.

Watch as Susana uses the cold poultice technique to remove folds and creases in the cloth 'feathers' of the cloak, carefully utilising moisture and glass weights to relax the fibres.

Conservation process:
Examining the costume: 00:11
Explaining the cold poultice technique: 01:08
Preparing layers: 01:33
Cutting and spraying blotting paper: 2:00
Placing 'sandwiches' between the 'feathers' and adding the glass weights: 02:39
Creating a chamber to trap moisture: 04:12
Vivien Leigh wearing the cloak: 05:54

See the cloak in more detail: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/conser...

Find out more in our Theatre and Performance Collection: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/the...