John Napier studied at Hornsey College of Art and subsequently the Central School of Arts and Crafts under Ralph Koltai. He is an Associate Designer of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Notable productions include Macbeth, The Comedy of Errors, King Lear, Once in a Lifetime, Nicholas Nickelby, Hedda Gabler, Peter Pan and Mother Courage. His productions for the National Theatre include Peter Shaffer’s Equus, later seen worldwide, Trelawny of the Wells and, more recently, Peter Pan, An Enemy of the People and Candide. John Napier has designed Lohengrin and Macbeth for the Royal Opera House, Idomeneo for Glyndebourne, The Devils for ENO and is working on Nabucco for the Met in New York. In the musical theatre he designed Cats, Starlight Express, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon and Sunset Boulevard. These five productions have been presented around the world. He also designed Time, Children of Eden, Burning Blue, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Jesus Christ Superstar in London’s West End. He designed and co-directed the show for illusionists Siegfried and Roy at the Mirage, Las Vegas. He designed the Captain Eo video starring Michael Jackson for Disney. He also designed Stephen Spielberg’s film Hook.
His design awards include two SWET Awards, King Lear (RSC) and Lohengrin, an Olivier for Burning Blue and Tony Awards for Nicholas Nickelby, Cats, Starlight Express, Les Miserables and Sunset Boulevard.
He designed the world premiere production of Jane Eyre on Broadway and the American production of Martin Guerre.
John Napier was elected to the eminent position of Royal Designer for Industry in 1996. He is also a member of the American Academy of Achievement.