James Farncombe

Career Trajectory

Beginning as an electrician at Nottingham Playhouse and apprenticing under his uncle, celebrated lighting designer Paul Pyant, James Farncombe methodically developed his craft through assisting on seminal productions at the English National Opera and Glyndebourne before emerging as a principal creative voice in the early 2000s. His lighting design for *The Elephant Man* at Worcester Swan catalyzed a sustained partnership with Pilot Theatre Company and the National Theatre, where productions such as *People, Places and Things* and *Edward II* established him as a designer of international stature. Today, Farncombe commands commissions from the world's most prestigious opera houses and theatres—from the Metropolitan Opera and Royal Opera House to the Schaubühne Berlin and Paris Opéra—his luminous designs recognized through Knights of Illumination Awards, Olivier nominations, and an OBIE Special Citation.