BOA Alumnus Andrew Exeter Brings Disney’s High School Musical to Life at Wembley

BOA alumnus and set and lighting designer Andrew Exeter is celebrating another exciting career milestone as his latest set design for Disney’s High School Musical opens at Troubadour Wembley, following a successful run at The Lowry in Salford.

The production sees Andrew bring a bold creative vision to the stage, blending the worlds of theatre and sport through an innovative design concept centred around a giant basketball court.

“My latest set design for Disney’s High School Musical has opened this week at Troubadour Wembley after a successful month’s run at The Lowry in Salford, and it’s really exciting to see the design transform another space,” Andrew said.

“The key concept of this production has been making the ‘theatre making’ and ‘sport making’ clash, hence our giant basketball court ‘set’ within our theatre.”

At Wembley, around 300 people can sit on stage as part of the action. Andrew worked alongside lighting designer Rory Beaton, costume designer Sophia Pardon, and video and projection designer George Reeve to create a production in which different design disciplines come together to deliver a distinctive theatrical experience.

For Andrew, this collaborative approach has its roots in his training at BOA and later Rose Bruford College.

“It’s key to the creative process and is something that’s stuck with me right since training at BOA and later Rose Bruford College: the secret to great design is collaboration.”

Reflecting on his time at BOA, Andrew highlighted the value of gaining experience across different production departments before developing a specialism.

“What’s great about the production course at BOA is that students study a bit of every department, and then find an area to really specialise and learn in, whilst having gained the empathy for other departments they’ll later collaborate with in the industry.”

An exciting year of new productions

High School Musical is just one of several exciting projects keeping Andrew busy this year. His recent work includes Weird, a new musical by the writers of The Little Big Things, which he has been designing in Newcastle, and Redcliffe, another new musical created at Southwark Playhouse.

Looking ahead, Andrew is also preparing to design a major new musical in Japan based on the film RRR, continuing to expand his portfolio across productions in the UK and internationally.

“High School Musical is obviously a crazy big production and it’s been a dream to design, but to be honest it’s the icing on a cake of really exciting projects this year,” Andrew said.

Reflecting on the variety of his work, he added:

“From tiny fringe theatres to a 1,400-seat space next to Wembley Stadium, the variety of this year is definitely keeping me on my toes and I’m super grateful and excited for the teams that work with me and my studio team of designers who keep it all moving!”

Andrew’s journey is a fantastic example of how creative education can provide the foundations for an exciting career in the industry. We’re proud to celebrate his continued success and look forward to seeing where his career takes him next.

Discover more about BOA alumni

Our alumni continue to make their mark across the creative industries and beyond. To discover more alumni success stories or find out how to join our alumni community, visit our BOA academy websites.