The character arc of Es Devlin
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born Esmeralda Devlin on 24 September 1971 in Kingston upon Thames. Between then and now sit an English literature degree at Bristol, a foundation at Central Saint Martins, the Motley Theatre Design Course, a National Theatre commission in 1998, Olivier Awards in 2014 and 2015, Olympic ceremonies in 2012 and 2016, an OBE in 2015, a Tony in 2022 and a book in 2023. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Es Devlin?
She read English, and then changed everything.
She studied English literature at Bristol, which is not a design degree and was not a route to any of this. Then she changed direction: a foundation course in fine art at Central Saint Martins, and the Motley Theatre Design Course, which is where British stage design is actually taught. Starting again in your twenties in a different discipline is the pivot of this line, and everything after it depends on it.
She began in narrative theatre and experimental opera at the Bush Theatre in London. In 1998 Trevor Nunn asked her to design Harold Pinter's Betrayal at the National Theatre, and the sculptural, structural way she thinks about a stage became her signature. Olivier Awards followed for Chimerica in 2014 and The Nether in 2015, and a Tony Award for The Lehman Trilogy in 2022.
Alongside the theatre, the largest rooms in the world. She designed for U2's Innocence and Experience tour in 2015, Beyoncé's Formation World Stadium Tour in 2016, and for Adele, and she designed scenic elements for the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics and the set for the opening ceremony in Rio in 2016. She was appointed OBE in 2015 and CBE in 2022 for services to design, named a Royal Designer for Industry in 2018, published An Atlas of Es Devlin in 2023 and exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt. Her line is worth reading for the change of direction, made after a degree in something else.
The moments
Es Devlin's timeline.
The 1990s
A degree in English
Milestone. Literature. Nothing in it points at a career designing stadiums.
Use the English degree, or start again
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: retrain as a designer, taken, or use the degree she had. Trevor Nunn brought her to the National Theatre in 1998, and she has since won two Olivier Awards and a Tony.
She changed discipline
Milestone, and it changed everything. Starting again, in a different subject, after a degree in another one.
The Bush Theatre
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A small room above a pub, which is where most British theatre careers start.
Trevor Nunn called
Milestone, and it changed everything. From the Bush to the National, on one invitation.
The 2010s
The Olympic closing ceremony
Milestone, and it changed everything. The largest audience there is, twice.
An Olivier for Chimerica
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Two years running, from the theatre establishment.
Appointed OBE
Milestone. Three honours across seven years.
Beyoncé, and a stadium tour
Milestone, and it changed everything. The three biggest live acts on earth, inside two years.
The 2020s
A Tony Award
Milestone, and it changed everything. Broadway's own award, for a play staged inside a glass box.
An Atlas of Es Devlin
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A museum retrospective, for work most people met without knowing whose it was.
The Hunt, and Coriolanus
Milestone. Back in theatres, after the stadiums.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is visible to anybody who has stood in a stadium: the idea that the room itself is part of the work, and that somebody designed what you are looking at.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
Hers changed discipline after a degree in something else entirely. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Es Devlin: frequently asked questions
What people ask about her line.
What is Es Devlin's character arc?
What were the turning points in Es Devlin's life?
What did Es Devlin study?
Who has Es Devlin designed for?
What awards has Es Devlin won?
Is Es Devlin an artist as well as a designer?
What is Es Devlin working on now?
Where does this timeline of Es Devlin's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with her.
Sources
- Es Devlin, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Olivier Awards records, 2014 and 2015.
- Tony Awards record, 2022.