Es Devlin: 'We were judged as failures for Hamlet'

After winning the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Set Design for Hamlet at the Prince of Wales Theatre, set designer Es Devlin spoke backstage about how she and director Lyndsey Turner were deflated after The Times broke the reviewing embargo on the high profile show.

"The audience loved [Hamlet] but the critics were quite mixed so it was a lot of work… We felt pretty shit as a team, we felt shit when we did our first preview; the ghost didn’t quite work yet, nothing was quite ready, we got a two-star review, we were pretty much judged as being failures."

Devlin continued, saying: "We walked down the Old Kent Road, me and Lyndsey [Turner – director], smoking, crying, feeling pretty rubbish."

The two-star review from The Times caused controversy when it was published in August due to the critic breaking an embargo and reviewing a first preview. Actors and audiences rallied round to support the production team, calling it unfair to judge a production which had not yet opened.

Despite the setbacks, Devlin went on to say how much the award meant to her: "It’s quite a big deal for me because I’ve been nominated for this award before and not won it…we were really invested in [the production] emotionally and personally so it feels really good that it's been recognised."

The production, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch (who picked up Best Actor in a Play for his role), divided the critics after opening night but enjoyed a sell-out run with Devlin's design being notably praised.

Hamlet also won Best Play Revival at the WhatsOnStage Awards.

Es Devlin – WOSAwards from Ben Hewis on Vimeo.

Read our coverage of the WhatsOnStage Awards