Tony Awards 2024: Tom Scutt – Theatre needs to recalibrate the role of designers

However, he said this presented an opportunity for change and for the sector to rethink the role of designers.

"It’s an invitation for audiences, critics and industry to recalibrate what a designer does on a show, as I don’t think it has to be about materials," he said, adding: "It’s an expectation or a given that material costs are going to be very high, but for me, design is about problem-solving – it’s about interfacing with all the different departments to creatively produce... something that doesn’t necessarily have to have exorbitant costs.

"I would love there to be a sea change in what we as an audience expect from what we see on stage. For me, it’s about spaces, about how you change a space to change the people that come [to theatre] and for it to be inviting to a wider audience."

Scutt said Cabaret utilised a circular stage with "nothing in the middle of the room".

"It’s about the space we’re in and that is a more exciting way of thinking to the future of design," he said.

Scutt also said that, coming out of the pandemic lockdowns, he and his peers had an urge "to stand up and be the people that we want to be".

"And so it was very important Cabaret was inclusive and representative of the people in the show and the stories in the show," he said.