Tim Hatley's Advice to Aspiring Theatre Designers: 'Keep Your Seatbelt Fastened'

This past season, Tim Hatley picked up his seventh Tony nomination for his scenic design of Back to the Future: The Musical, which features a jaw-dropping, flying DeLorean eight times a week at Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre (and London's Adelphi).

And there's no slowing down for the ever-busy theatre artist, who designed the sets for two new productions currently on U.K. stages: the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's locomotive-themed Starlight Express (recently extended through June 2025 at the Starlight Auditorium at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre) and the Elton John-Shaina Taub-Kate Wetherhead musical The Devil Wears Prada (playing a pre-West End run at Theatre Royal Plymouth through August 17 prior to beginning performances October 24 at London's Dominion Theatre).

Hatley, it should be noted, has won three Tonys throughout his eclectic career: Best Scenic Design for Private Lives (2002), Best Costume Design of a Musical for Shrek the Musical (2009), and Best Scenic Design of a Play for Life of Pi (2023). He picked up additional nominations for Life of Pi's costume design (2023) and both the scenic and costume design for the original Broadway production of the Tony-winning Spamalot (2005).

The British native is also an Olivier winner for Best Set Design for Stanley (1997) with nominations for the costume design of Shrek the Musical (2011) and the set design of The Bodyguard (2013). His screen credits include Closer, Notes on a Scandal, and Stage Beauty.

In the interview below for the Playbill series How Did I Get Here—spotlighting not only actors, but directors, designers, musicians, and others who work on and off the stage to create the magic that is live theatre—Hatley shares the biggest design challenge of Back to the Future, giving a new fresh look to Starlight Express, and the humble way he got his first job in the theatre.

Where did you train/study?
Tim Hatley: I studied Theatre Design (set and costumes) at Central Saint Martins, London.

Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?
Saint Martins was in the heart of London’s West End when I studied there, and it was led by practicing designers. We had a lot of contact with many theatre practitioners, which included meeting many established designers who were involved with our projects. It’s hard to pick out any one designer/teacher, but I owe much to Alison Chitty, Jocelyn Herbert, and Pamela Howard.

What are the duties of a scenic designer/costume designer before the show opens? What are the responsibilities after it's running?
In addition to how the show “looks,” the designer’s role, in my opinion, is to work closely with the director and use design to tell the story and facilitate efficient and elegant transitions between scenes. I work closely with costume makers and the actors to help them bring their characters to life on stage. Once the show is open, it is in the hands of a trusted team who look after the long-running maintenance and keep all the visual elements looking tip-top. Each show has a show report where I am alerted to any problems. I also try and watch the show every few weeks.

Roger Bart and Casey Likes in *Back to the Future: The Musical* Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

What were some of the specific challenges of designing the scenery and costumes for Back to the Future?
The main challenge, and indeed the starting point for me, was working out how we were going to tell the story of the DeLorean traveling through time from 1955 to 1985. This is an iconic moment in the movie, which I wanted to retell in a theatrical way. I hit on the idea of syncing the DeLorean, a moving clock tower, actors, lighting, video, and sound to give the sequence a sense of cinematic close-up and pace. The characters are costumed very closely to the movie since they are playing the same characters. But with this being a musical, and we have singing and dancing, and it was a joy to invent the DeLorean Girls, 20th Century Doc Assistants, and Future Boy dancers.

READ: How Tim Hatley Made Back to the Future's DeLorean Drive 88 Miles Per Hour On Stage

For the current London production of The Devil Wears Prada, how much inspiration did you take from the film, if any? Also, can you talk a bit about working with Jerry Mitchell on this production?
When designing a musical interpretation of a movie, I believe it’s important to understand and absorb the source material. Then the job is to find a way to reinterpret that material and make it live in a theatrical world. I’m not interested in copying. I’m more interested in adopting, adapting, and developing. A major part of designing for the theatre is working out how one location transitions into the next. Working with Jerry is a blast. Not only is he full of energy and enthusiasm for design, he understands musicals inside out, and he is as obsessed as I am in making transitions work.

For the Starlight Express revival, how did you approach designing the set for a musical people know so well?
The original Starlight Express opened in London 30 years ago. As a design team, our aim was to give a fresh look to Starlight, at the same time acknowledging the source material and the fact that all the performers are on roller skates. This new production takes place in a former movie studio, rather than a theatre. As a result, the space was a blank canvas. I was able to configure how the audience and scenic design could work together and explore the skating performer’s ability to shoot up and down ramps and pass in and around the audience at speed. Working closely with video (Andrzej Goulding), lighting (Howard Hudson), and sound (Gareth Owen), we have been able to use modern technology and effects to immerse the audience in a fully 3D world.

Jade Marvin in *Starlight Express* Pamel Raith

What made you decide to become a scenic/costume designer?…. Was there a particular production or performance that influenced your decision?
I went to see Richard Eyre's production of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre in London on a school trip. John Gunter’s set and Sue Blane's costumes mesmerized me. From that moment on, I wanted to be a designer for theatre.

Tell me about a time you almost gave up but didn’t.
That’s never happened. There have been very difficult times, but if you have the capacity to give up, then theatre is not the path for you.

What do you consider your big break?
My first job was working at the small fringe theatre above a pub in Notting Hill Gate, London. I designed the production Damned for Despair, directed by Stephen Daldry. It was a terrific production, well received, and it jump-started my career.

How did you get your first job in the theatre?
I begged the National Theatre to take me on as an unpaid apprentice.

What is the most memorable day job you ever had?
Being a theatre designer. It’s what I have done every day of my working life.

Tell me about a job/opportunity you really wanted but didn’t get. How did you get over that disappointment?
If a job doesn’t happen, there is probably a reason. I never drown myself in disappointment. Just move on—there’s always another avenue to explore.

David Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria, Christopher Sieber, Steve Rosen and Tim Curry in the original Broadway company of Monty *Python's Spamalot*. Joan Marcus

If you were asked to put one scenic design and one costume design from any of the shows you have worked on into a time capsule to best exemplify your work, which would you pick and why?
If I had to choose an example of my work to put in a time capsule, I would choose The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol, which is a beautiful story by John Berger and devised with Complicité. This was very early on in my career, but the process and design has stayed with me and shows my roots as a designer. Costuming the original Spamalot was enormous fun and shows off my sense of humor, which I depend on enormously.

Is there a person or people you most respect in your field and why?
I have huge respect for the army of people who make designs happen. It’s one thing to come up with visual ideas, but it’s another thing to realize those ideas, from model makers to assistants and associates, production managers, scenic, costume, and prop shops. Not to forget the writers, directors, and the actors who make shows come alive.

What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
Listen to people. Look at what is going on around you. Be a sponge and absorb as much as you can. Believe in yourself and keep your seatbelt fastened, as being a theatre designer is not an easy ride.

What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
I wish I knew how fast time goes by. It was something that people told me, but it’s not until you experience it that you truly understand it.

What is your proudest achievement as a scenic/costume designer?
I have had many proud moments. Right now, I’m extremely proud of getting a DeLorean to travel 88 mph, eight times a week.