Concept and creative process
Opening titles of ‘Tipping the Velvet’, a drama based on Sarah Waters' novel, adapted by Andrew Davies. The 3-part drama serial charted the lesbian love story between Kitty Butler, a music hall male impersonator and Nan Astley, a naive young Whitstable oyster maid. On a family outing to the local music hall in the 1890s, Nan found herself mesmerised by performer Kitty, an attraction that triggered a voyage of emotional and sexual discovery with Kitty Butler, which transported Nan into a sexually charged world of hedonism and betrayal in London. The elegant opening title caption was digitally composited over an out of focus shot of glistening oysters, which led into a scene-setting montage of the oyster trade, the pebble beach and wooden groins and the boardwalk attractions of Whitstable harbour.