The award-winning theatre designer and alumni of Birmingham Polytechnic (now BCU), Rob Howell, talks about his career – from a ‘beans on toast poor’ freelancer to the huge success that is Matilda The Musical

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

I did a three-year design course at Birmingham Polytechnic, then became resident design assistant at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. After two-and-a-half seasons there, I decided to go it alone. I went from earning good money to no money. I moved to London and started schlepping my portfolio around and writing letters. I’d pick up the odd tiny show but it was three years before anything really started to happen. I was beans on toast poor and thought about packing it all in. The months of uncertainty were hard, but I carried on. I now have a studio and a great team, and it’s a privilege.

IT’S WHAT I DO

I’m sent plays, musicals and operas to read to see if I can do something with them. Sometimes that means quick ideas, so for instance I read something 10 days ago and we start to build next week. Sometimes it’s years. If it’s work for The Met it could be four-and-a-half years. I have a team of permanent associates, then depending on the job we bring in other people. The great thing is, it’s often surprising and I think, ‘I didn’t see that coming’. It’s often chaotic. It might be 16-hour days at times and lots of travelling on planes.

BIGGEST SUCCESS

Matilda has been going for 15 years, so I think I’d have to say that. I had no idea it would be so successful, but I did know it was a story that universally speaks to children and adults and I thought I could find a way to make it work. At the time I was approached, the script was there but the search was on for a composer. Tim’s (Minchin) name was swirling around. He’d just won an award and was doing a gig at the Bloomsbury Theatre. I went to watch it with the director Matthew (Warchus). Tim was hilarious and I was having a ball, but Matthew was questioning whether he was capable of making people cry as well as laugh. Then Tim came back out after the curtain had gone down and played White Wine in the Sun which is a love letter to his daughter. It was deeply emotional and that was it. I would run up a blind alley with the design. Then we’d meet up and share where we all were. Then we’d go off again, come back and share more ideas. It muddled its way along.

BIGGEST LESSON LEARNED

Just be nice. I’ve watched other people not do it.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF/FAVOURITE THING ABOUT BIRMINGHAM?

I lived in a student house with eleven people in Moseley and the Trafalgar pub was at the top of our road, so we spent a lot of time in there. I was asked to come back and do a talk at what was my old college. I got off the train confident I knew the way, but the city has completely changed. I got lost. The transformation is remarkable. It’s alive!

DOWNTIME

I cook.