Robert Stuart Howell is a British costume and set designer. He is primarily known for his work on the London stage. Howell won the Olivier Award for his set design for the musical Matilda the Musical in 2012. He has also designed both scenery and costumes for several Broadway shows, and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for Ghost the Musical in 2012.
Career After leaving college, Howell worked for two and a half years with the Royal Shakespeare Company as a resident design assistant. He met Matthew Warchus there, who years later asked him whether he would be interested in working on Matilda the Musical.Beckett, Lynda. "Happy Birthday Matilda!" offscreenmagazine.co.uk, October 1, 2012
Howell has designed sets and costumes for numerous plays and musicals in the UK, in London and for Broadway over a 20-year period (based on a 2012 interview). In London, he has designed for Royal National Theatre productions including Buried Child, Chips with Everything, Troilus and Cressida, Battle Royal, and Howard Katz."Rob Howell, Theatre Credits" lotr.com, accessed May 14, 2013 He has also designed for productions at the Royal Court Theatre, the Donmar Warehouse, the Almeida Theatre, and the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as for regional UK theatres. He was the set and costume designer for the stage musical Lord of the Rings (West End, 2007)."Cast and Creative" lotr.com, accessed May 14, 2013
Howell has won fifteen Olivier Awards for Best Set Design. The most recent of these was for his work on the West End production of Matilda the Musical."Rob Howell Profile" cft.org.uk He has received 2013 Tony Award nominations for his work on the Broadway production of Matilda the Musical, for both Best Scenic Design of a Musical and Best Costume Design of a Musical.Gans, Andrew. "Nominations Announced for 67th Annual Tony Awards; 'Kinky Boots' Earns 13 Nominations" playbill.com, April 30, 2013 His set design for Matilda the Musical was described: Howell's unique design for Matilda the Musical saw the entire Cambridge theatre, from foyer to stage, transformed into Roald Dahl's imaginative world. The cast climb on giant alphabet soup letters, perform in health and safety defying scenes on wooden spoons and clamber over the imposing thighs of Miss Trunchbull, in her fearsome school... [the] eye-catching and uniquely eccentric design provides a fittingly colourful and exuberant setting.Amer, Matthew. "Matilda's Howell wins Best Set Design yet again" officiallondontheatre.co.uk, 15 April 2012
Howell designed set and costumes for Richard Eyre's 2014 production of Mozart's opera Le nozze di Figaro at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City."Season Opens, and the Intrigue Is at Last Onstage – Metropolitan Opera Opens with Le nozze di Figaro by Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, 23 September 2014
In 2015, it was announced he had teamed up with the creative team from Matilda to design Groundhog Day.
Broadway Source: Internet Broadway Database
Matilda the Musical – 2013 Ghostie The Musical – 2012 Private Lives – 2011 The Norman Conquests: Living Together – 2009 The Norman Conquests: Table Manners – 2009 The Norman Conquests: Round and Round the Garden – 2009 Boeing-Boeing – 2008 The Graduate – 2002 Betrayal – 2000 True West – 2000
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2008Tony Award Best Costume Design of a Play Boeing-Boeing 2009 Best Scenic Design of PlayThe Norman Conquests Drama Desk Award Outstanding Set Design of a Play Outstanding Costume Design 2012 Tony Award Best Scenic Design of a MusicalGhost the Musical Drama Desk Award Outstanding Set Design 2013Tony Award Best Scenic Design of a MusicalMatilda the Musical Best Costume Design of a Musical Drama Desk Award Outstanding Set Design Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Set Design 2017Tony Award Best Scenic Design of a Musical Groundhog Day 2019 Best Scenic Design of a PlayThe Ferryman Best Costume Design of a Play Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Scenic Design Outstanding Costume Design 2020Tony Award Best Scenic Design of a PlayA Christmas Carol Best Costume Design of a Play
References
External links Rob Howell biography, Debrett's