Brian Thomson (b. 1946) is an Australian theatre, opera and film designer. He has been active in Australian

stage design Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including Play (theatre), plays and Musical theatre, musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, wher ...

since the 1970s.

Biography

Originally an architecture student, Thomson dropped out of university to become an artist, and began working in theatre after meeting director

Jim Sharman James David Sharman (born 12 March 1945) is an Australian director and writer for film and stage with more than 70 productions to his credit. He is renowned in Australia for his work as a theatre director since the 1960s, and is best known in ...

in 1969. They had a long and successful work collaboration together, beginning at the

Old Tote Theatre Company The Old Tote Theatre Company (1963–1978) was a New South Wales theatre company that began as the standing acting and theatre company of Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). It was the predecessor to the Sydney Theatre Company ...

, before working on a series of hugely successful musical productions including the Melbourne production of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'', and the original Australian and London productions of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'' and ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

''. When Sharman directed ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...

'' movie based on the musical, and its sequel '' Shock Treatment'', Thomson worked on their set design again. Other musical credits include the Broadway production of ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...

'', and Australian productions of ''Company'', '' The Boy from Oz'', and ''Priscilla: Queen of the Desert the Musical''. He has designed for all the major Australian theatre companies, with credits including ''

Holding the Man Holding may refer to: Film and television * ''The Holding'' (film), 2011 British film * "Holding", an episode of the American animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * ''Holding'' (TV series), a 2022 TV series based on the book by ...

'', ''

Keating! ''Keating!'' is a sung-through musical which portrays the political career of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating. Keating was Prime Minister between 1991 and 1996; the musical follows him from his ascent to the leadership through ...

'', ''The Gates of Egypt'', '' Capricornia'', ''

Stuff Happens ''Stuff Happens'' is a play by David Hare, written in response to the Iraq War. Hare describes it as "a history play" that deals with recent history. The title is inspired by Donald Rumsfeld's response to widespread looting in Baghdad: "Stuff h ...

'', '' Run Rabbit Run'', '' Buried Child'', '' My Zinc Bed'', ''

The Laramie Project ''The Laramie Project'' is a 2000 American play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project (specifically, Leigh Fondakowski, writer-director; Stephen Belber, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts, Stephen Wangh, Amanda Gronich, Sar ...

'', '' Aftershocks'', ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'', ''

The Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' () is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published by Gyldendal AS in C ...

'' and ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

.'' For

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

, where he was Associate Director in 1981, Thomson has designed for productions of ''Chicago'', '' Festen'', '' The Ham Funeral'', ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

'', ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'', '' The Real Thing'', '' The One Day of the Year'', ''Up for Grabs'', '' The White Devil'', ''

A Cheery Soul ''A Cheery Soul'' is a 1963 play by Australian writer Patrick White set in the fictional Sydney suburb of Sarsaparilla at the end of the 1950s. White described it as being about "the destructive power of good." Productions ''A Cheery Soul'' ...

'', ''The Doll Trilogy'', '' Arcadia'', and '' Steel City''. In 1982 he directed and designed ''The Stripper'', which opened Sydney Theatre Company's second venue Kinsela Theatre. The new musical was adapted from the novel by Carter Brown. Thomson has designed opera for

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) () is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the ...

, the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

, the

Royal Opera, London The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent G ...

, and for films including ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', ''Starstruck'', '' Rebel,'' and ''

Ground Zero A hypocenter or hypocentre (), also called ground zero or surface zero, is the point on the Earth's surface directly below a nuclear explosion, meteor air burst, or other mid-air explosion. In seismology, the hypocenter of an earthquake is its p ...

''. In 1983 he made his film directing debut with the short ''Night of Shadows'', based on ''The Shadow Knows'' a short play he had staged the previous year. He also designed sets for tours by

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

, floats for the 2012 Mardi Gras, and was supervising designer for Sydney

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Closing Ceremony, the 2001 Centenary of Federation Ceremony, the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

Opening Ceremony, and the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. His archives are held by Australian Performing Arts Collection.

Awards

In 1985 and 1987 he won an AFI for Best Achievement in Production Design, after being nominated in 1982 and 1984. In 1996 he won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Scenic Design and

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Set Design for ''

.'' In 2007 he won a Helpmann Award for Best Design for '' The Boy from Oz''. In 2005 Thomson received an

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

, AM, for services to the arts. In 2016 he won Best Stage Design for ''Faith Healer'' at the

Sydney Theatre Awards The Sydney Theatre Awards are annual awards to recognise the strength, quality and diversity of professional theatre in Sydney, Australia. They were established in 2005 by a group of major Sydney theatre critics. The awards recognise mainstage and ...

, and received their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. In 2019

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...

awarded him an honorary degree of Master of Fine Arts.

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were last awarded in 2016. ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Brian Thomson won two awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1993 , Brian Thomson , Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre , , - , 1994 , Brian Thomson , Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Brian Australian scenic designers Australian theatre designers Helpmann Award winners Members of the Order of Australia Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Best Production Design AACTA Award winners