204. Bonus episode: Designer Tom Scutt on having three musical revivals in the West End
The WhatsOnStage Podcast
In this bonus episode, designer Tom Scutt discusses the rare feat of having three major West End musical revivals running simultaneously. He
Key takeaways
- Tom Scull is currently designing for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Into the Woods, and Jesus Christ Superstar.
- Scutt describes his design process as a 'visualization of music' rather than starting with fixed images.
Main topics
- West End musical revivals
- Stage and costume design process
Notable quotes
It's more about... what is suitable and what is, in a way that, the, the, the, the aesthetic and the sort of visuals are a product of like a kind of, it feels like a visualization to me of music in some way.
Conclusion
A profound look at the collaborative alchemy required to create large-
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:05) Hello, What's On Stage podcast listeners. It is Alex here with your midweek bonus episode. Today I am delighted to be joined by Tom Scutt, who, in a coup for theatre design, has three musical revivals running simultaneously in the West End this autumn. They are the award-winning Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, the award-winning Into the Woods, which has just opened in previews at the Knoll Coward Theatre after an initial run at the Bridge Theatre, directed by Jordan Fine, and Jesus Christ Superstar, which has just wrapped up a spell at the London Palladium and will shortly open at Theatre Royal Drury Lane for a second run this year. It will also be touring in 2027, starring the inimitable Sam Ryder. With all that in mind, we wanted to hear from Scott about what it's been like designing three award-winning productions, as well as what his plans for the future might be, reflecting on the postponed production of Sunday in the Park with George, directed by Marianne Elliott. Let's jump right in. With these sorts of shows and these titles, you know, Woods, JCS, where do you start in terms of what is the first, is it one image that you... build from or is it multiple sources of visual sources audio sources that you work with in order to think about how to to realize this on stage it Speaker 2 (1:31) takes about 20 years to start to even get to grips with it um for a very long time as is the case with all all you know new creatives that the challenge is to be involved, be around, be part of something. And, you know, you don't have the luxury of choice, I think, at the beginning of one's career. You know, it's... Speaker 2 (2:03) is take any opportunity you can get to try and work stuff out um and i guess well superstar was the first musical that i designed so it's sort of strange to have that back with the most with the with the um the longest running musical i've designed and the newest musical i've designed and sort of see those next to each other and and i i'm starting to get to grips with some kind of a a common ground in the processes. But the truth is... I think you can't really take a sort of linear approach to design. I think constrictions and opportunities and hindrances and limitations and contacts all fly at you from 360 degrees at once. You know, whether it's who's being cast, whether it's, you know, what kind of a space it is. whether it's touring, whether it's transferring, what's the audience, who are you trying to contact, what is the piece, what does the piece resonate now? So it's like being plugged in several times over, and you sort of just have to start filling in the gaps and create a sort of mind map, I suppose, of... and thoughts. Some of them are fundamental, some of them are immovable, and some of them are questions and curiosities. And I guess then the visuals, in a way, are sort of born out of process. I don't necessarily think I go in with a visual in mind. It's more about... Speaker 2 (4:00) what is suitable and what is, what is in a way that the, the, the, the aesthetic and the sort of visuals are a product of like a kind of, it feels like a visualization to me of music in some way. It's, it's sort of shapes and symbols and arrangements of objects. uh Speaker 1 (4:29) sculptural objects with Speaker 2 (4:33) with jesus christ superstar it was very much about um Speaker 2 (4:39) the excitement and vivacity of this ensemble. And that's always been the case from 2016 through to now. It's a world sort of in flux, either being assembled or disassembled and this sort of whirlwind of bodies that sort of run through it. But yes, there was, of course, the symbol of the cross and that I wanted to interrogate. I wanted to interrogate the sort of Speaker 2 (5:10) the purification and simplification of this object that means such horrific things, that represents such horrific things, and to just interrogate that with Tim and what that represents. Cabaret, you know, a totally different experience, but I think also, I guess, there's a common thread about, you know, people, about the experience, the togetherness, the community. Speaker 2 (5:38) the way we gather to watch work. And I think probably Into the Woods is the most different in as much as it's, I mean, it's certainly about community. It's certainly about people. Speaker 2 (5:53) But it is also a real investment in the sort of magic or a nostalgia of sort of 1980s theatre stage design. We really wanted to deliver something that sort of... yeah like sort of provided that joy and exuberance and i think the and the excess to a degree which i think is so um essential to the story rather than a frivolous decorative thing it's like essential to the understanding of the story of of wishing too much. So I don't know what can we gather from this that I'm saying. I think it's a lot about people. It's a lot about people. It's about what people need, what the people on stage need, what the audience needs, what, you know, what are we searching for in this moment? And that can change on a dime. And the work, the designs, the look of things, in a way, isn't my greatest priority. It sort of appears through the thinking rather than forcing a show into... a look if that makes sense yeah Speaker 1 (7:10) your point about um responding to people i think too often with set design you're thinking about a space rather than bodies in a space and actually it's the link between the body and the space that actually is where that's the most at the most important because if a set feels disconnected from the people on it then the whole thing can fall apart actually creating that sense of a show has to involve the artifice of people pretending to be a character in a space and audience suspending their disbelief about where they are when they are you're Speaker 2 (7:42) making me think about integration really and and and that any department can fall foul of going into a process and thinking right this is i'm doing this role and i have to do it really well and i'm you know eyes down looking here we go like sort of looking straight ahead and and it actually the success i think of a show is when you all just sort of melt together and um Speaker 2 (8:13) And sort of that can sometimes mean that you need to do less and sit back whilst you make space for... Speaker 2 (8:26) a different character, a different department that just carries the show in a way. And I think if everybody's sort of at, you know, 11 constantly, then it's exhausting. Like, as an audience, you're totally oversaturated, overstimulated. So... Speaker 2 (8:49) The alchemy of working together is fundamental, I think. Speaker 1 (8:55) And even with Woods, I guess, the way that lighting, video, set, all kind of bled into one another, that must have been that tutti. Speaker 2 (9:06) Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, I mean, in a way, the lighting was so much part of the concept at the beginning that me and Jordan and Aideen wanted to investigate it. It is the way that the forest changes and transforms and moves throughout the whole piece. Speaker 2 (9:29) We knew that investing heavily in the reality of the forest would mean that sort of traditional scene