Hugh Vanstone
Encyclopedia
Hugh Vanstone is a leading British
lighting designer
whose freelance career began in 1991. He won the 1999, 2001 and 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Lighting Design and was nominated for a Tony Award
in 2005 and 2009. He has designed lighting for plays, musicals and operas in London, New York and around the world as well as concerts, industrial theatre and architectural lighting projects.
, Exeter
.
He has designed lighting for numerous London productions, including Desperately Seeking Susan; Howard Katz (Royal National Theatre) and The Caretaker (Comedy Theatre), both directed by Patrick Marber; Mouth To Mouth, directed by Ian Rickson (Royal Court and Albery Theatres); The Graduate, directed by Terry Johnson (Gielgud Theatre); Dr Dolittle (Apollo, Hammersmith) and Antony and Cleopatra (Royal Shakespeare Company), both directed by Steven Pimlott; Orpheus Descending (Donmar Warehouse) and The Lady In the Van (Queen’s Theatre), both directed by Nicholas Hytner; The Cherry Orchard directed by Trevor Nunn (Royal National Theatre); Juno and the Paycock directed by John Crowley (Donmar Warehouse); Art (Wyndham’s and Whitehall Theatres), The Unexpected Man (RSC, Duchess Theatre) and The Winter’s Tale (RSC at The Roundhouse) all directed by Matthew Warchus; Blast! (Apollo, Hammersmith); and The Blue Room, directed by Sam Mendes (Donmar Warehouse). He also designed Dance of the Vampires, directed by Roman Polanski in Vienna (1997 and 2009) and the European tour starting in Berlin in 2006.
His opera productions have included Dialogues des Carmélites (English National Opera), Carmen (Opera North) both directed by Phyllida Lloyd; and The Bartered Bride, directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff (Glyndebourne).
He has received three Olivier Awards for his work in London, including for Pacific Overtures
(Donmar Warehouse
) in 2004, for The Cherry Orchard and The Graduate in 2001, and for The Unexpected Man and The Blue Room in 1999.
His New York credits include:
He has also designed lighting for plays in Los Angeles, Australia and elsewhere.
Vanstone is scheduled to design lighting for several 2008 productions including Yasmina Reza
's play, The God of Carnage and Peter Gill
's Small Change (London); Boeing Boeing (revivals on Broadway and in Australia); and "Shrek the Musical" (Broadway).
. He lives in London with his partner George Stiles
.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
lighting designer
Lighting designer
The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...
whose freelance career began in 1991. He won the 1999, 2001 and 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Lighting Design and was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
in 2005 and 2009. He has designed lighting for plays, musicals and operas in London, New York and around the world as well as concerts, industrial theatre and architectural lighting projects.
Career
Hugh Vanstone trained at the Northcott TheatreNorthcott Theatre
The Northcott Theatre is a theatre situated on the Streatham Campus of the University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, England.-History:The Northcott is the seventh building in Exeter to be used as a theatre....
, Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
.
He has designed lighting for numerous London productions, including Desperately Seeking Susan; Howard Katz (Royal National Theatre) and The Caretaker (Comedy Theatre), both directed by Patrick Marber; Mouth To Mouth, directed by Ian Rickson (Royal Court and Albery Theatres); The Graduate, directed by Terry Johnson (Gielgud Theatre); Dr Dolittle (Apollo, Hammersmith) and Antony and Cleopatra (Royal Shakespeare Company), both directed by Steven Pimlott; Orpheus Descending (Donmar Warehouse) and The Lady In the Van (Queen’s Theatre), both directed by Nicholas Hytner; The Cherry Orchard directed by Trevor Nunn (Royal National Theatre); Juno and the Paycock directed by John Crowley (Donmar Warehouse); Art (Wyndham’s and Whitehall Theatres), The Unexpected Man (RSC, Duchess Theatre) and The Winter’s Tale (RSC at The Roundhouse) all directed by Matthew Warchus; Blast! (Apollo, Hammersmith); and The Blue Room, directed by Sam Mendes (Donmar Warehouse). He also designed Dance of the Vampires, directed by Roman Polanski in Vienna (1997 and 2009) and the European tour starting in Berlin in 2006.
His opera productions have included Dialogues des Carmélites (English National Opera), Carmen (Opera North) both directed by Phyllida Lloyd; and The Bartered Bride, directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff (Glyndebourne).
He has received three Olivier Awards for his work in London, including for Pacific Overtures
Pacific Overtures
Pacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change...
(Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
) in 2004, for The Cherry Orchard and The Graduate in 2001, and for The Unexpected Man and The Blue Room in 1999.
His New York credits include:
- ArtYasmina RezaYasmina Reza is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter. Her parents were both of Jewish origin, her father Iranian, her mother Hungarian.-Career:...
(1998 on Broadway, Royale Theater) - The Blue Room (1998 on Broadway, Cort Theater)
- Closer (1999 on Broadway, Music Box Theatre)
- FolliesFolliesFollies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
(2001 revival on Broadway at the Belasco Theater) - Blast! (2001 on Broadway)
- The Unexpected Man (Promenade Theater)
- The Graduate (2002 on Broadway)
- Uncle VanyaUncle VanyaUncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
, Twelfth Night and HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(BAM) - Life (x) 3 (2003 on Broadway, Circle in the Square)
- Bombay DreamsBombay DreamsBombay Dreams is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan,and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two years...
(2004 on Broadway) - SpamalotSpamalotMonty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
(2005 on Broadway, for which his lighting was nominated for a Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
) - Shrek the Musical (2008 on Broadway)
- A Steady RainA Steady RainA Steady Rain is a play by Keith Huff. With a plot similar to a real-life event involving Jeffrey Dahmer, it focuses on two Chicago policemen who inadvertently return a Vietnamese boy to a cannibalistic serial killer who claims to be the child's uncle...
(2009 on Broadway)
He has also designed lighting for plays in Los Angeles, Australia and elsewhere.
Vanstone is scheduled to design lighting for several 2008 productions including Yasmina Reza
Yasmina Reza
Yasmina Reza is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter. Her parents were both of Jewish origin, her father Iranian, her mother Hungarian.-Career:...
's play, The God of Carnage and Peter Gill
Peter Gill (playwright)
Peter Gill, theatre director, playwright and former actor, was born in Cardiff, Wales, on 7 September 1939, son of George John Gill and his wife Margaret Mary .He was educated at St Illtyd's College, Cardiff.-Career:...
's Small Change (London); Boeing Boeing (revivals on Broadway and in Australia); and "Shrek the Musical" (Broadway).
Personal life
Hugh Vanstone was born in ExeterExeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. He lives in London with his partner George Stiles
George Stiles
George William Stiles is an English composer of musicals for stage and screen.-Education:From 1974 to 1979, he was educated at Gresham's School, in Norfolk.George Stiles also went to Exeter University.-Collaboration with Anthony Drewe:...
.