Amy Jane Cook
Selected credits
- Boys From The Black StuffLiverpool Royal Court/ Olivier, National Theatre
- RIDE: The MusicalThe Old Globe, San Diego/ Charing Cross Theatre/ Leicester Curve/ Southwark Elephant
- Two of UsWatford Palace/ HOME Manchester
- The ChildrenNottingham Playhouse
- The SwellOrange Tree Theatre
- Bronco BillyCharing Cross Theatre
- JellyfishDorfman Theatre/Bush Theatre
About
Amy is a set and costume designer working in theatre and performance. She trained on the prestigious Motley course.
Amy’s designs have been nominated for four Off West End Best Set Design Awards. Recent credits include Boys From The Black Stuff (Olivier, National Theatre/ Liverpool Royal Court), The Children (Nottingham Playhouse), Bronco Billy (Set Design – Charing Cross Theatre), RIDE: The Musical (Charing Cross Theatre/ Leicester Curve/ Southwark Elephant/ Old Globe, San Diego), The Swell (Orange Tree Theatre), Two of Us (Watford Palace/ HOME Manchester), Protest (Northern Stage/UK Tour/ Fuel Theatre), Jellyfish (Bush Theatre), Not Talking (Arcola Theatre) and The Funeral Director (Southwark Playhouse/UK Tour). She was the winner of Best Design at the Wales Theatre Awards 2017 for Constellation Street directed by Chelsey Gillard and Dan Jones for The Other Room, Cardiff.
Featured work
Boys From The Blackstuff
Liverpool Royal Court/ National Theatre/ West End
Written by James Graham
Directed by Kate Wasserberg
Designed by Amy Jane Cook
Lighting Designer Ian Scott
Composer and Sound Designer Dyfan Jones
‘an incredible shipyard themed set by Amy Jane Cook that seamlessly moves the story from building sites, to the docks and Chrissie’s living room, combine to move the story along at a quick pace and takes the audience into the lives of the characters.’
★★★★★ Broadway World
★★★★ The Guardian
★★★★ The Stage
RIDE: The Musical
Charing Cross Theatre 2022/ Leicester Curve/ Southwark Elephant 2023/ The Old Glove, San Diego
Directed by Sarah Meadows
Set & Costume Design by Amy Jane Cook
Musical Direction by Sam Young
Lighting Design by Jamie Platt
Nominated for Best Set Design, Off West End Awards 2022
‘The set design by Amy Jane Cook is full of lovely surprises, transforming from a well-appointed but bland period boardroom into Annie and Martha’s stage…before opening out…to reveal the distant horizons of her convention-defying journey’ ★★★★ The Stage
The Children
Nottingham Playhouse
Written by Lucy Kirkwood
Directed by Kirsty Patrick Ward
Set & Costume Design by Amy Jane Cook
Lighting Design my Jamie Platt
Sound Design by Dominic Brennan
‘The ambitious set by Amy Jane Cook depicts a cross-section of a cottage, revealing bare earth and pipes below the floorboards…the whole structure is canted at a slight angle, so that items roll off tables and floodwater pools, inches deep, in one corner.’
★★★★ The Stage
‘Amy Jane Cook’s set is a gem with small details everywhere…’
★★★★ The Reviews Hub
The Swell
Orange Tree Theatre/ World Premiere
Directed by Hannah Hauer-King
Designed by Amy Jane Cook
Lighting Design by Elliot Griggs
Sound Design & Composition by Nicola Chang
‘a truly bold and unexpected piece of work’
★★★★ The Evening Standard
★★★★ The Guardian
★★★★ The Arts Desk
PROTEST
Northern Stage/ UK Tour/ Fuel Theatre
Written by Hannah Lavery
Directed by Natalie Ibu
Set & Costume Design by Amy Jane Cook
Sound Design by Lauren Gilmour & Audrey Tait
‘Amy Jane Cook’s bold, fluid set recalls playground climbing frames, and the girls clamber and scramble all over it, hanging from its bars, reclining on its platforms, not caring how their skirts fall, if their clothes get crumpled or their shoes get scuffed. This constant movement itself feels revolutionary’ ★★★★ The Stage
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
The Watermill Theatre, Newbury
Directed by Kate Budgen
Design by Amy Jane Cook
Lighting Design by Katy Morison
Sound Design and Composition by Beth Duke
Projection Design by Rachel Sampley
‘ Amy Jane Cook’s ingenious two-level design ratchets up the tension by allowing a speedy shuttling between past and present’
★★★★ The Times
★★★★ Broadway World
★★★★ The Guardian
The Season
The Royal & Derngate,
Northampton & New Wolsey Theatre
Written by Jim Barne & Kit Buchan
Director: Tim Jackson
Composer: Jim Barne
Lighting: Simon Wilkinson
‘ The single set by Amy Jane Cook is cleverly conceived and more than enough to give us an airport, a subway car, Chinatown and a couple of hotel bedrooms – with some surprises along the way.’ ★★★★1⁄2 The Reviews Hub
You Stupid Darkness
Paines Plough / Theatre Royal Plymouth
Written by Sam Steiner
Director: James Grieve
Lighting Design: Peter Small
Sound Design: Dominic Kennedy
Photo: Matt Austin
‘Outside, the natural world erodes, with Amy Jane Cook’s design dipping tungsten lights into a fizzing blood-red state of emergency.’
★★★★ The Guardian
Jellyfish
Dorfman Theatre/Bush Theatre
Written by Ben Weatherall
Director: Tim Hoare
Lighting Design: Jamie Platt
Producer: Mark Cartwright
Photo: Sam Taylor & Amy Jane Cook
‘Amy Jane Cook’s stage design is used to stunning effect ….. The set – a pier, some fairground lights, an imagined sea tipping off stage – exquisitely captures the faded glory of Skegness.’ The Guardian
Lava
Nottingham Playhouse
Written by James Fritz
Director: Angharad Jones
Lighting: Alexandra Stafford
Photos: Amy Jane Cook & Creative by Wren
‘ Designer Amy Jane Cook has created a black circular crater in the centre of the stage, an impact zone, but also a place in which emotions can pool… It’s a beautiful bit of visual storytelling.’ TheStage.co.uk
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Watermill Theatre, Newbury
Director: Kate Budgen
Lighting: Sally Ferguson
Sound Design: Jon McLeod
‘ The simple yet very effective set from designer Amy Jane Cook… and fabulous traditional costumes all enhanced a superb evening, of which no doubt Oscar Wilde himself would have been proud.’ The Henley Standard
Not Talking
Arcola Theatre
Written by Mike Bartlett
Director: James Hillier
Lighting Design: Zoe Spurr
Photo: Amy Jane Cook and Lidia Crisafulli
‘It’s especially striking to have the performers play live on the echoing upright piano that takes centre stage in Amy Jane Cook’s spare and carefully crafted set.’
★★★★ Whatsonstage
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
Theatr Clwyd
Director: Kate Wasserberg
Lighting Design: Nick Holdridge
Photo: Manuel Harlan
‘ With Amy Cooks bold and brash costume designs, the characters feel like a very vivid memory of a time just on the outskirts of memory…. The set design has real streak of genius transforming from the Hoff household to Mr. Boo’s club.’
★★★★ The Reviews Hub
