ABOUT
Stella Backman is a Set and Costume Designer within the live arts industry. She is based between London and Stockholm, working across the UK, Europe and internationally.
Stella's work spans plays, live music, musicals, family shows, new writing, accessible work, physical theatre, pantomime and gig-theatre.
In live music, she is a frequently collaborator with Mångata Collective. Her work has been seen on some the biggest arena stages and music festivals in the world, including set design for Sleep Token: Even in Arcadia Tour (Headliners Download Festival, US Arena Tour), Machine Gun Kelly (Vans Warped Tour), Texas: The Very Best of Texas (UK Arena Tour), and James Arthur (O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire).
In accessible theatre, she is passionate about creating work for audiences often overlooked and excluded. A notable achievement is designing Sensory Cinders; the first ever West End pantomime tailored for audiences with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD).
Stella is interested in creating visually bold, expressionistic and abstract spaces. She enjoys creating work that is collaborative, playful, textural, and atmospheric - all whilst keeping the story at the forefront.
CV
CURRENT & UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS
2026
CAROLINE: A NEW MUSICAL | Set & Costume Designer | UK tour | Musical | Dir. Douglas Rintoul
WHODUNNIT (UNREHEARSED) 4 | Set & Costume Designer | Park Theatre | Theatre | Dir. Jez Bond
THE SILENCE AND THE NOISE | Set & Costume Designer | UK tour | Theatre | Dir. George Turvey
PAST PRODUCTIONS
2025
COUNTESS DRACULA | Set & Costume Designer | UK tour | Theatre | Of The Jackel
TO THOSE ISLANDERS | Set & Costume Designer | ACE funded R&D | Theatre | Dir. Natalie Simone
SLEEP TOKEN | Set Designer | US Tour, Download Festival, Rock am Ring, Rock im Park | Live Music | Mångata Collective
THE FIT PRINCE | Set & Costume Designer | The Pleasance, Edinburgh Fringe | Theatre | Awkward Prods
MGK | Set Designer | Vans Warped Tour | Live Music | Mångata Collective
LIL.MISS.LADY | Set & Costume Designer | UK Tour | Theatre | Highrise | Dir. Dom Garfield
HOSPITAL DOORS | Set & Costume Designer | UK Tour | Theatre | Next Door But One | Dir. Matt Harper-Hardcastle
2024
JAMES ARTHUR | Set Designer | O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire | Live Music | Mångata Collective
TEXAS: THE VERY BEST OF TEXAS | Production Designer | UK Arena Tour | Live Music | Mångata Collective
SENSORY CINDERS | Set & Costume Designer | Sohoplace | Theatre | Concrete Youth | Dir. Belle Streeton
THE TURN OF THE SCREW | Set & Costume Designer | Queen's Theatre Hornchurch | Theatre | Dir. Anna Marsland
PERFECT SHOW FOR RACHEL | Set & Costume Designer | Barbican Centre, Brighton Dome | ZooCo & Improbable | Theatre | Dir. Rachel O'Mahony
SHUSH | Set & Costume Designer | Jackson's Lane | Tit for Tat Circus & Thimble Theatre | Theatre
DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY | Set & Costume Designer | Jersey Arts Centre | Theatre | Dir. John Wright
2023
THE GREAT | Costume Designer | Lionsgate+ | Promotional event | Cartwheel & Co
BOSSY | Set & Costume Designer | Lyric Hammersmith, Southbank Centre | Theatre | ZooCo | Dir. Flo O'Mahony & Cherie Gordon
NIGHT SHIFT | Set & Costume Designer | Stanley Arts | Theatre | ZooCo | Dir. Flo O'Mahony & Brian Duffy
DELIGHT IN THE WOODS | Set & Costume Designer | Box Hill | Theatre | ZooCo | Dir. Flo O'Mahony
2022
PERFECT SHOW FOR RACHEL | Set & Costume Designer | Barbican Centre | Theatre | ZooCo | Dir. Rachel O'Mahony
KING RODOLFO | Set & Costume Designer | Pleasance Dome | Theatre | Dir. Ciaran Dowd
MAYBE, PROBABLY | Set & Costume Designer | Old Red Lion | Theatre | Over There Theatre | Dir. Lydia Parker
2021
DIFFERENT OWNERS AT SUNRISE | Set & Costume Designer | The Roundhoues | Theatre | Dir. Flo O'Mahony
SUMMER'S PARK ADVENTURE | Set & Costume Designer | Deptford Park | Theatre | Dir. Becca Chadder
LADIES IN THE VAN | Set & Costume Designer | Touring | Theatre | Dir. Flo O'Mahony
2020
MERRY'S CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE | Set & Costume Designer | Deptford Park | Theatre | Dir. Anna Fox
2019
THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF ALFRED | Production Designer | Short film | Dir. Joe Pearson
ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM | Set & Costume Designer | Camden People's | Theatre | Dir. Lanre Malaoulu
DELIGHT IN THE WOODS | Set & Costume Designer | Box Hill | Theatre | Dir. Flo O'Mahony
2018
MESSY | Set & Costume Designer | Lyric Hammersmith | Theatre | Dir. Flo O'Mahony
INSTALLING THE WHISPER PIECE | Production Designer | Short film | Dir. Mengjiao Chen
12 MILLION VOLTS | Set & Costume Designer | Greenwich Theatre | Theatre | Dir. Chris Yarnell