How 2,500 Props Brought a 17th-Century Antiquarian Back to Life

What happens when you attempt to reconstruct the identity of a man who died 270 years ago using nothing but objects?

In 1967, set designer Julia Trevelyan Oman took on this remarkable challenge while designing the stage for Brief Lives, Patrick Garland’s play about John Aubrey (1626–1697), a 17th-century antiquarian and obsessive collector.

Aubrey was a man possessed by the past. He described his life’s work as “rescuing what I could of the past from the teeth of time.” Though his 426 biographical sketches were left in chaos after his death and remained unpublished for over a century, his spirit endured through the fragments and ephemera he so passionately gathered.

Oman’s solution was radical for its time: she curated a world composed of approximately 2,500 authentic props. The stage was cluttered with 17th-century books, suits of armour, tobacco tins, and even the scent of rotting food and chicken bones by the hearth. The result was more than a backdrop; it was an immersive psychological space. During intervals, audience members crowded the stage, drawn to what was called an “absolutely astounding” compilation of objects that seemed to breathe with Aubrey’s presence.

And yet, here lies the paradox: Aubrey died with very few possessions, having donated much of his collection to the Ashmolean Museum. Oman’s aim was not factual reconstruction, but emotional authenticity. She envisioned “one man's world in one room”, not a museum display, but a lived-in, memory-soaked environment that reflected the essence of Aubrey’s intellectual world.

The production was a record-breaking success. Actor Roy Dotrice performed the role 1,782 times, earning a Guinness World Record. Beyond the accolades, the play reignited interest in Aubrey’s life and work, and Oman’s design became a landmark in theatrical history.

Most striking, perhaps, was her demonstration that objects can serve as “embodiments of memory” physical remnants that carry the human trace of those who once used them. As philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote, “an entire past comes to dwell” in our homes. Oman gave that past form, layering memory and identity into space through meticulous research and material precision.

This was not just stage design, it was a form of biography.

Read the full article to explore how Oman, Garland, and Dotrice transformed a forgotten life into an enduring presence, and how theatrical design became a profound tool for reconstructing identity here: pp 98-107: https://www.questionjournal.com/_files/ugd/86d078_8fccb70c5489468e8c4e0ff58c1259e0.pdf?index=true

Maynard, E. (2025) ‘Reconstructing Identity: Depictions of the Personality and Home of John Aubrey in Patrick Garland’s Play Brief Lives’, Question, 9(1), pp. 98–107. doi:10.52715/MAYN0001. Available at: https://www.questionjournal.com/issue-9/Maynard

Portrait of John Aubrey (1626-1697) Unknown Artist and Date