John Napier (designer)

John Napier (born 1 March 1944) is a set designer for Broadway and London theatrical performances.

John Napier
Born	1 March 1944 London
Nationality	British
Education	Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Known for	Set designer & costume designer
Spouse(s)	Andreane Neofitou Donna King (1984–1994) Caroline McGee (2014–)
Awards	Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design; Tony Award; Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design

Education

John Napier was born in London. He studied at Hornsey College of Art and the Central School of Arts and Crafts, studying under notable set designer Ralph Koltai.

Career

Napier earned a position as an Associate Designer at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has designed for the National Theatre, notably the production of Peter Shaffer's Equus, Trelawny of the Wells, An Enemy of the People and Candide. John Napier has also designed for the Royal Opera House, for Glyndebourne, for the English National Opera and others. He designed Children of Eden, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Jesus Christ Superstar in London's West End. He reworked his original designs for Equus (2007 London production).

In the United States, in addition to numerous Broadway productions, he designed and co-directed the show for illusionists Siegfried & Roy at The Mirage, Las Vegas. He also designed the Captain EO video starring Michael Jackson for Disney and the Steven Spielberg film Hook.

Honours and awards

 

John Napier in 1982

Napier's design awards include the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design for King Lear, Lohengrin, and Burning Blue. Napier has won Tony Awards for The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Cats, Starlight Express, Les Misérables and Sunset Boulevard.

He won the 1987 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for Starlight Express and Les Misérables and has twice won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design for Cats in 1983 and Starlight Express in 1987. He has won The Critics' Circle Award for set design and twice for the, first in 1989 for Miss Saigon and again in 1997 for Peter Pan.

Affiliations

Napier is a member of the American Academy of Achievement.^[1][2] He was elected Royal Designer for Industry in 1996 and is an Honorary Fellow of the London Institute.

Personal life

Napier's first wife was Andreane Neofitou, and they had two children, Julian and Elise. Next, from 1984 to 1994, he was married to Donna King, and with her had two more children, James and Jessica. He married thirdly Caroline McGee in June 2014.^[3]

Productions

Royal Shakespeare Company Hedda Gabler King Lear Macbeth Mother Courage and Her Children Much Ado About Nothing Nicholas Nickleby Once in a Lifetime Peter Pan Twelfth Night The Comedy of Errors Royal National Theatre The Party Equus Trelawny of the Wells An Enemy of the People Peter Pan Candide South Pacific

Broadway / West End Cats Les Misérables Time Miss Saigon Starlight Express The Baker's Wife Sunset Boulevard Jesus Christ Superstar Jane Eyre Gone with the Wind Opera Lohengrin (Covent Garden) Macbeth (Covent Garden) Idomeneo (Glyndebourne Festival Opera) The Devils (English National Opera) Nabucco (Metropolitan Opera)

References

1. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
2. "2017 Summit Highlights Photo". 2017. Academy member and award-winning British theater and costume designer John Napier presents the Golden Plate Award to English novelist and essayist Dame Antonia Susan Byatt at the 2017 Summit in Mayfair, London.
3. John Napier at filmreference.com, accessed 7 April 2018

External links

• John Napier at IMDb
• John Napier at the Internet Broadway Database