Starter for Ten | Interview with Costume & Set designer Lee Newby
9 Sep 2025Lee Newby is the Set & Costume designer for Starter for Ten. This week he’s been busy in costume fittings with the company, but we made him a cup of tea in exchange for a 5minute chat about his work, inspiration and preventing split trousers...
Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been designing for theatre and what do you love about it?
I’ve been a theatre designer for 15years. I trained at LIPA in Liverpool and have been lucky enough to have worked all over the world. What I love about theatre design is the fast-paced energy of designing – especially working with actors. It can be a lot of fun.
Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration for the set and costumes?
The aesthetic is ‘University Challenge 1985’ but we’ve taken the look from slightly earlier – around 1980. Those geometric square patterns were consistent throughout the 1970s and '80s which is perfect as the story spans about ten years.
The late '70s/early '80s University Challenge TV studio design gives us the backdrop to all Brian’s childhood memories of watching the show with his dad. It’s as if the show is in Brian’s head. We’re telling the story from his perspective, capturing Brian’s longing to be on the quiz show.
The show is opening at Bristol Old Vic before touring to Birmingham Rep. What are the challenges of designing for two different venues?
The different shapes of the auditoria are quite challenging – you’ve got the intimate space of BOV compared to the much wider auditorium at Birmingham – they’re not naturally sympathetic spaces!
We’ve added an extra element for Bristol which has allowed the actors to come further into the auditorium and connect the audience to the stage. That's only really possible due to the unique style of the auditorium in Bristol. Birmingham has a more clear line between the stage and the audience which will create a different but still recognizable show.
What did you do to prepare for designing this production?
I watched the original Bristol production and also the film, but at the end of the day they are other people’s interpretations. I had to find my own. I found going back to the source material – David Nicholls' gorgeous novel – the most helpful part of the initial process. It’s so rich in imagery, I created a new design based on that and the director Charlie’s vision for the show.
When designing for a musical – are there unique considerations you have to think about?
You’ve always got to think about movement. Actors will always move differently telling a musical story with dance, choreography and song. In a play you don’t often have people jumping in the air and doing the splits. Everything needs to be built to withstand a run with highly physical content. We’re aiming to avoid splitting any trousers!
Are there any surprises for audiences to watch out for?
There will be a lot of Easter eggs within the show you’ll recognize if you watched it before. There are a few surprises that have remained but also some new things buried in set pieces.
Do you have a top tips for any budding set designers out there?
One of the joys of getting into the industry for me was working with other designers and going down the Associate path; assisting prolific designers to understand how design works and understand how to adapt to different buildings.
Also, my advice is to watch as much theatre as possible. I used to go to the theatre 5 nights a week – any offer of tickets, blagging my way into press nights, the lot!
There are some great training courses out there – LIPA was fantastic, Plymouth, Cardiff and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
So: good training, see as much theatre as possible, connect with directors and designers you admire. Take time to understand your own aesthetic too.
