Es Devlin

Esmeralda Devlin (; born 24 September 1971 ) is an English artist and stage designer who works in a range of media, often mapping light and projecting film onto kinetic sculptural forms. She has received several accolades including a Tony Award and two Olivier Awards. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours by Queen Elizabeth II for services to design. She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2013.

Devlin is known for her extensive work in the theatre. For her work in the West End she won two Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Set Design for Chimerica (2014), and The Nether (2015). She was Olivier-nominated for Hamlet (2016), The Lehman Trilogy (2019), and Dear England (2024). For her work on Broadway she won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play for The Lehman Trilogy (2022). She was Tony-nominated for Machinal (2014), and American Psycho (2016). She is also known for her The Hunt (2019) and The Motive and the Cue (2023).

Early life and education Devlin was born in Kingston upon Thames, London, on 24 September 1971. She attended Cranbrook School, Kent.

She studied English literature at Bristol University, followed by a Foundation Course in Fine Art at Central St. Martin's eventually specialising in theatre design. While undertaking her studies, she prepared the props for Le Cirque Invisible, the circus company founded by Victoria Chaplin and Chaplin's husband, Jean-Baptiste Thierrée. In 2005, Kanye West hired her to design his Touch the Sky tour, marking the start of a long-term collaboration, which continued with his Glow in the Dark, Watch the Throne, and Yeezus tours.

Her work on installations also began gaining attention, with her 2016 installation Mirrormaze in Peckham drawing large crowds. In 2017, she designed the Singing Tree at the Victoria and Albert Museum, an interactive machine-learning-based installation, viewed by over 10,000 visitors during Christmas. That same year, she created Room2022, a 7,000 square-foot installation at Art Basel Miami.

In 2018, Devlin's Fifth Lion installation in Trafalgar Square, which roared AI-generated poetry to crowds, was a highlight of the London Design Festival. — following the UK's theme "Innovating for a Shared Future" — featured an illuminated "message to space" to which each of the Expo's million visitors would be invited to contribute.

Using plastic trees, sellotape, stretchy mirrored sheeting, string, she builds "dream-like constellation of things" explaining that “the piece happens between those objects.”

"Each of her designs is an attack on the notion that a set is merely scenery" wrote Andrew O'Hagan in The New Yorker in 2016. Devlin "is in demand because she can enter the psychic ether of each production and make it glow with significance." 2018: Royal Designer for Industry for Theatre Design 2022: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to design Fellow of University of the Arts London

Devlin is the subject of episode three of the Netflix documentary series Abstract: The Art of Design.

Work Theatre Year Project Credit Venue Ref.1999 Howie the Rookie Scenic Design Bush Theatre, London 2001 A Day in the Death of Joe Egg Scenic Design / Costume Design Ambassador's Theatre, West End 2003 American Airlines Theatre, Broadway 2013 Chimerica Scenic Designer Almeida Theatre, West End 2014 Machinal Set Design American Airlines Theatre, Broadway 2014 The Nether Scenic Designer Royal Court Theatre, London 2014 American Psycho Scenic Design Almeida Theatre, West End 2016 Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway 2015 Hamlet Scenic Designer Barbican Theatre, West End 2018 Aristocrats Scenic Designer Donmar Warehouse, West End 2018 Girls & Boys Set Designer The Royal Court Theatre, London Minetta Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway 2018 The Lehman Trilogy Scenic Design Lyttelton Theatre, West End 2021 Nederlander Theatre, Broadway 2019 The Hunt Scenic Design Almeida Theatre, West End 2024 St. Ann's Warehouse, Brooklyn 2023 The Crucible Scenic Designer Olivier Theatre, West End 2023 Dear England Scenic Designer Olivier Theatre, West End 2023 The Motive and the Cue Scenic Designer Lyttelton Theatre, West End 2024 Noël Coward Theatre, West End 2024 Coriolanus Scenic Designer Olivier Theatre

Television

Concert

Fashion Year Thames & Hudson

Exhibition

Accolades Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.2014 Laurence Olivier Award Best Set Design Chimerica 2015 The Nether 2016 Hamlet 2019 The Lehman Trilogy 2024 Dear England 2014 Tony Award Best Scenic Design of a Play Machinal 2016 Best Scenic Design of a Musical American Psycho 2022 Best Scenic Design of a Play The Lehman Trilogy

Personal life Devlin is married to the theatrical costume designer Jack Galloway; they have two children and live in London. Her husband works on The Lion King Musical franchise.