The McManus is set to showcase costumes from The Crown, Suffragette and more in a major new exhibition

Costumes from some of film and television’s most iconic productions, including The Crown, Poldark, The Essex Serpent and Suffragette, will go on display in Dundee next year as part of a major new exhibition at the McManus.

Reported by The Herald, the exhibition, titled Curtain Call, will celebrate costume designers with strong Dundee and Tayside connections whose work has featured on screens and stages around the world.

It will run for nine months, from 7 February to 15 November 2026, with free admission for all visitors.

Among the star pieces is a costume designed by Dundonian Jane Petrie for The Crown, alongside outfits worn by acclaimed actors such as Claire Foy, Claire Danes, Meryl Streep, Ben Kingsley and Eleanor Tomlinson.

The exhibition will also include theatre and opera costumes on loan from the Royal Shakespeare Company, Scottish Opera, and the Royal Ballet and Opera.

Petrie, who grew up in Newport-on-Tay, is best known for her work on Foundation, The Crown, and The Essex Serpent, as well as films including Suffragette, Outlaw King and Moon.

She said discovering costume design as a career changed her life, adding that she hopes the exhibition will inspire a new generation to pursue creative careers in the arts.

Another featured designer is Ros Little, also from Newport-on-Tay, whose credits include Poldark, All Creatures Great and Small, The Thick of It and Horrible Histories.

The exhibition will also honour Alex Reid, a Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art graduate who worked with Scottish Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the National Theatre, earning two Tony Award nominations for his work on Broadway.