Wikipedia

Tom Scutt

Tom Scutt (born 1983) is an English theatre set and costume designer. Scutt's work has appeared across the West End and Broadway. He has regularly collaborated with directors Rupert Goold and Rebecca Frecknall, and has worked with musicians Sam Smith and Pet Shop Boys in the past.[1][2]

Tom Scutt
Headshot of Scutt in a tuxedo against a golden background, clutching an award
Scutt in 2024, holding his Tony Award
Born1983 (age 42–43)
Epsom, Surrey
Education
OccupationsTheatre set and costume designer
Notable work
Awards
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

For his work on the 2021 West End revival of Cabaret at the Playhouse Theatre, Scutt received the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Designer[3], which he also won for his work on A Very Expensive Poison and Into the Woods.[4][5][6] When the same production of Cabaret transferred to Broadway in 2024, Scutt won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design in a Musical.[7] Scutt has received six Olivier Award nominations, including one win for Best Set Design for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.[8]

Career

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Scutt was born in Epsom in Surrey, England in 1983.[9] His father, an English and drama teacher,[10] frequently took Scutt to productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company,[9] a company Scutt later worked with on The Merchant of Venice.[11] He attended The Chase School in Malvern, Worcestershire.[12] Scutt graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2006, with a first-class degree in theatre design.[9][1]

Scutt has worked on productions including King Charles III, Constellations, Fantastic Mr Fox,[13] Jesus Christ Superstar, Cabaret,[14] Fiddler on the Roof and Into the Woods, where his set design was described as "exquisitely conceived".[15][16] For Cabaret, at both the Playhouse Theatre and the August Wilson Theatre, Scutt's immersive set design included a special side entrance for the audience to enter through, symbolising the "descent into the cabaret".[10][17][18] He also designed the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony.[19]

As of January 2026, he is set to design the London revival of Sunday in the Park with George starring Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grande, scheduled to run at the Barbican Centre in the summer of 2027.[20][21]

Recognition

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Scutt has received the Jocelyn Herbert Award for Stage Design and the Linbury Prize for Stage Design, which he went on to judge eight years later.[1][9][22] Scutt has also been appointed as an Associate Artist of the Donmar Warehouse.[23]

Accolades

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Award / Organisation Year[a] Category Nominated work(s) Result Ref
Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2019 Best Designer A Very Expensive Poison Won [4]
2021 Cabaret Won [3]
2026 Into the Woods Won [5]
Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2022 Best Designer Cabaret Won [24]
Laurence Olivier Awards 2022 Best Set Design Cabaret Nominated [25]
Best Costume Design Nominated
2025 Best Set Design Fiddler on the Roof Won [8]
Best Costume Design Nominated
2026 Best Set Design Into the Woods Nominated [26]
Best Costume Design Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Awards 2016 Outstanding Costume Design King Charles III Nominated [27]
Tony Awards 2016 Best Costume Design in a Play King Charles III Nominated [28]
2024 Best Costume Design in a Musical Cabaret Nominated [7]
Best Scenic Design in a Musical Won
WhatsOnStage Awards 2013 Best Set Designer Constellations and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Won [29]
2019 Best Set Design Little Shop of Horrors Won [30]
Best Costume Design Nominated
  1. ↑ Indicates the year of ceremony.

Personal life

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As of 2016, Scutt lives in East London.[31] Scutt identifies as queer.[2]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Trueman, Matt (15 June 2012). "Tom Scutt: Grand designs". The Stage. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 Rosseinsky, Katie (1 March 2022). "Cabaret's designer Tom Scutt on bringing the Kit Kat Club to life". The Standard. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  3. 1 2 Snow, Georgia (3 April 2022). "Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2022: the winners in full". The Stage. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Just announced! Full list of 2019 Critics' Circle Awards winners and production photos". Critics' Circle Theatre Awards. 11 February 2020. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  5. 1 2 King, Stuart (26 March 2026). "And the winners are… Critics' Circle Awards 2026". West End Theatre News and Reviews. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  6. ↑ Chambers, Katie (30 March 2026). "Tom Scutt: It's dangerous when shows opt for basic set designs to cut costs". The Stage. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  7. 1 2 Lee, Benjamin (16 June 2024). "Tony awards 2024: full list of winners". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Olivier awards 2025: full list of winners". The Guardian. 6 April 2025. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Bayes, Honour (13 July 2015). "Tom Scutt: 'Design isn't about drawing, but talking'". The Stage. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  10. 1 2 Parent, Dylan (5 June 2024). "In Cabaret, Set and Costume Designer Tom Scutt Wanted to Celebrate Queer Individuality". Playbill. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  11. ↑ Coveney, Michael (16 December 2014). "The Merchant of Venice (Almeida Theatre)". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  12. ↑ Russell, Nathan (8 April 2025). "Former The Chase student wins Olivier Award". Malvern Gazette. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  13. ↑ Gardner, Lyn (4 December 2016). "Fantastic Mr Fox review – brave take on Roald Dahl could be foxier". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  14. ↑ Crompton, Sarah (12 December 2021). "Cabaret review – Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley lead shattering West End revival". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  15. ↑ Jays, David (27 January 2016). "Designs fit for Kanye and a future king – the stage worlds of Tom Scutt". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  16. ↑ Akbar, Arifa (12 December 2025). "Into the Woods review – Brothers Grimm gloriously mashed up by Sondheim". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  17. ↑ Wolf, Matt (15 December 2021). "Review: First the Party, Then the Crash, in a Cabaret Revival". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  18. ↑ Lang, Brent (18 April 2024). "How Broadway's Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club Pulls Off Its Audacious, Sensual 75-Minute Prologue". Variety. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  19. ↑ Zumberge, Marianne (27 August 2015). "Set Designer Tom Scutt Helps MTV Video Music Awards Reinvent Itself". Variety. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  20. ↑ Shafer, Ellise (14 January 2026). "Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey to Star in Sunday in the Park With George Revival in London". Variety. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  21. ↑ Wiegand, Chris (14 January 2026). "Ariana Grande to make London stage debut alongside Jonathan Bailey in Sunday in the Park With George". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  22. ↑ "Tom Scutt appointed as an Associate Artist of the Donmar Warehouse". WestEndTheatre.com. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  23. ↑ Cole, Emily (25 January 2016). "Tom Scutt appointed associate artist at Donmar Warehouse". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  24. ↑ Dex, Robert (12 December 2022). "Jodie Comer takes centre stage at Evening Standard Theatre Awards". The Standard. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  25. ↑ Wiegand, Chris (10 April 2022). "Olivier awards 2022: the full list of winners". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  26. ↑ "Olivier awards 2026: full list of nominations". The Guardian. 5 March 2026. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  27. ↑ "American Psycho and She Loves Me Lead 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations". TheaterMania. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  28. ↑ "Tony Awards Nominations: Complete List". Variety. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  29. ↑ "2013 Results - 16th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards". WhatsOnStage.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  30. ↑ Bowie-Sell, Daisy (3 March 2019). "Hamilton and Aidan Turner among winners at 19th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  31. ↑ McLean, Gareth (22 October 2016). "'My sofa's named after Anna Chancellor': theatre designer Tom Scutt's London home". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
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