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.The Stage Thursday 16 March 2000, page 30
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.
Career Es Devlin's career began in narrative theatre and experimental opera, with early work at London's Bush Theatre. In 1998, she made her National Theatre debut when Trevor Nunn invited her to design the set for Harold Pinter's Betrayal. Since then, Devlin has gained a reputation for her sculptural and innovative designs for the stage.
In 2003, she ventured into concert design with her first collaboration, working with the band Wire. 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.
In 2012, Devlin designed the scenic elements for the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. Four years later, in 2016, she created the set design for the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics.
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. Also in 2018, she collaborated with theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli on a performance of The Order of Time, narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch at BOLD Tendencies in Peckham. Later that year, she designed MASK, a projection-mapped model city displayed at Somerset House.
In 2019, Devlin delivered a talk at the TED Conference in Vancouver titled Mind-blowing sculptures that fuse art & technology, which was selected by TED curator Chris Anderson as one of the best talks of the year. She also worked on The Hunt, a play directed by Rupert Goold, which premiered in London and transferred to St. Ann's Warehouse in New York in 2024.
Devlin's career took on international projects, including designing the UK Pavilion at the 2020 World Expo in Dubai, making her the first woman to receive such a commission since the inception of world expositions in 1851.
In 2021, her collaboration with rapper Dave and producer Fraser T. Smith won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song. She also co-designed the Brit Awards statuettes with artist Yinka Ilori.
In 2022, Devlin's work on the Super Bowl Halftime Show, featuring Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem, earned her three Emmy Awards, including one for Best Production Design. That same year, her scenic design for Adele's performance at Griffith Observatory won five additional Emmy Awards. Her scenic design for The Lehman Trilogy, directed by Sam Mendes, won her the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design.
Throughout her career, Devlin has collaborated on large-scale stage designs for artists including Kanye West, Beyoncé, Adele, U2, The Weeknd, Lorde, and Pet Shop Boys and worked with institutions such as the Royal Opera House in London.
Style The Poem Pavilion she designed at the 2020 World Expo in Dubai — 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." For Hamlet director Lyndsey Turner, Devlin “doesn't design what a play wants but what it needs.”
Recognition
2006: Olivier Awards for Best Costume Design for The Dog in the Manger 2014–2015: Olivier Awards for Best Set Design for Chimerica (2014) and The Nether (2015) 2015: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 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 Year Project Credit Notes2008 Salome Production designer Television movie 2014 Julie Taymor's A Midsummer Night's Dream Television movie 2015 Hamlet Television movie2015 Adele Live in London Television specialAdele Live in New York City Television special2018 The 60th Annual Grammy Awards Creative director Television special 2021 Adele One Night Only Production designer Television special 2022 The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Creative director Television special 2023 The Weekend Live at SoFi Stadium Production designer Television special2023 The Crucible Set Decorator National Theatre Live special
Concert Year Project Artist2003 Flag: Burning Wire2005 Touch the SkyKanye West2007–2008Glow in the Dark TourKanye West2009VH1 STORYTELLERSKanye West2009–2010 Monster Ball US Theatre Tour Lady Gaga The Resistance Tour Muse2010Madrid MTV Europe Music Awards2011 World Arena Tour Batman Live Watch The Throne Arena Tour Kanye West & Jay-Z Progress Live Take That Revel Theatre Kanye West 2013 Hyde Park Rolling StonesElectric TourPet Shop BoysYeezusKanye West2014Bangerz World Arena TourMiley Cyrus2015Innocence & Experience World TourU2Live in New YorkAdele2016Jimmy FallonThe WeekndWorld Arena TourAdeleAMASThe WeekndFormation World Stadium TourBeyoncé2017Legend of the Fall TourThe WeekndGLASTONBURYLorde2018Brit AwardsStormzyExperience + Innocence TourU2CoachellaThe Weeknd2019Pretty Crazy ConcertJoey Yung2021ONE NIGHT ONLYAdele2022Super Bowl Halftime ShowDR DRE with Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Mary J Blige, Snoop Dogg, 50 CentAfter Hours til Dawn The Weeknd2023After Hours til Dawn The WeekndRenaissance – World TourBeyoncéThe SphereU2
Fashion Year Collaboration Season Notes2015 Louis Vuitton SS Series 2AW2016 SSSeries 3 AW Cruise 2020AW2021 Chanel Celebration 2022 Dior SS Men2023 YSL SS Men
Publication Year Name Publisher Notes2023An Atlas of Es DevlinThames & Hudson
Exhibition Year Name Location Notes2023An Atlas of Es DevlinCooper Hewitt Museum
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.
References
External links
Video: Interview with Es Devlin for the Royal Opera House