Ryan Joseph Stafford
Biography
Ryan works across the UK and Europe as a Lighting Designer for theatre, musicals, and dance.
He trained at Rose Bruford College, graduating with a First Class BA Honours Degree in Lighting Design.
Theatre includes: Not Quite Jerusalem (Finborough); When the Sea Swallows Us Whole (Vault Festival, London); Wind of Heaven (Finborough); Cyrano de Bergerac (The Watermill); Crave (The Other Room/RWCMD); Hauntings & Pork Pies (Theatre Clwyd/National Trust); Easy Virtue (The Watermill); The Island (Fio/UK Tour); Cardiff Boy (Red Oak Theatre/The Other Room); The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives (Elufowoju, Jr. Ensemble/Arcola Theatre); Dames (Siberian Lights/Pleasance London); Finding Mr Hart (Blackburn Cotton Exchange); The River (Red Oak Theatre); Landmines (Bridge Company/Ovalhouse); Flew the Coop (New Diorama Theatre).
Musicals include: Sleeping Beauty (Rhodes Arts Theatre/Wisecracker Ent.); Pippin (UWTSD, Cardiff); Becoming (Stratford Circus); Robin Hood (The Watermill); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Bournemouth Pavilion); Wondertown (Bohemian Theatre Co.); Assassins (Rose Bruford/Stratford Circus).
Dance includes: Left from Write (Norwegian National Ballet II/Linbury, Royal Opera House; European Tour); CODI (National Dance Company Wales/National Tour); When It Arrives; Shall We Just Retire to the Lake? (Messums Gallery, Wiltshire); Together, Not the Same (Sadler’s Wells).
Ryan regularly works as an Assistant/Associate Lighting Designer for LDs including Michael Hulls, Richard Howell, Hansjörg Schmidt, Nic Farman, and Dan Saggars.
As Associate: Umm Kulthum & The Golden Era (London Palladium); Faustus: That Damned Woman (Headlong Theatre/UK Tour); Spiral Pass (Lyon Opera Ballet); The Thread (Sadler’s Wells; Megaron, Athens); Toujours et Près de Moi (ERRATICA/Edinburgh Fringe; Operadagen Festival, Rotterdam); Under Glass (Clod Ensemble/UK Tour); Orfeo ed Euridice (LFO/Greenwood Theatre).
Ryan is an Associate Artist of Red Oak Theatre Company and Bohemian Theatre Company.
In 2019, Ryan received the ‘Michael Northern Award for Excellence in Lighting Design’, from the Association of Lighting Designers.
Previous productions
Previous productions
| Show name | Type | Venue/Company | Role | Creative Team | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generation Goldfish | Dance |
Prinzregententheater, Munich Bayerisches Staatsballet |
Lighting Designer |
Choreographer: Charlotte Edmonds |
Jun 2021 |
| Rocky Road | Theatre | Jermyn Street Theatre | Lighting Designer |
Director: Steve Kunis Set designer: Ceci Calf |
Apr 2021, May 2021 |
| Rocky Road | Theatre | Jermyn Street Theatre | Lighting Designer |
Director: Steve Kunis Set designer: Ceci Calf |
Apr 2021, May 2021 |
| Shades of Blue | Dance |
Sadler's Wells Matsena Productions |
Lighting Designer |
Choreographer: Anthony Matsena & Kel Matsena |
Jan 2021 |
| NYDC X Russell Maliphant | Dance |
Sadler's Wells National Youth Dance Company |
Lighting Designer |
Choreographer: Russell Maliphant |
Aug 2020 |
| Not Quite Jerusalem | Theatre | The Finborough Theatre | Lighting Designer |
Director: Peter Kavanagh Set designer: Ceci Calf |
Mar 2020 |
| Left From Write | Dance |
Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, then touring Norwegian National Ballet |
Lighting Designer |
Choreographer: Charlotte Edmonds |
Jun 2019, Feb 2020 |
| Faustus: That Damned Woman | Theatre |
Lyric Hammersmith, then touring Headlong |
Touring Re-Lighter |
Lighting designer: Richard Howell Director: Caroline Byrne Set designer: Ana Inés Jabares Pita |
Jan 2020 |
| Sleeping Beauty - Pantomine | Musical |
Rhodes Arts Theatre Wisecracker Productions |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Ian McFarlane |
Dec 2019 |
| Wind of Heaven | Theatre |
The Finborough Theatre Weighed In Productions |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Will Maynard Set designer: Ceci Calf |
Nov 2019 |
| CODI | Dance |
Theatr Clwyd, then touring National Dance Company of Wales |
Lighting Designer |
Choreographer: Anthony Matsena |
Nov 2019 |
| Cyrano de Bergerac | Theatre | The Watermill Theatre | Lighting Designer |
Director: Seamus Allen Set designer: Cory Shipp |
Oct 2019 |
| Spiral Pass | Dance | Lyon Opera Ballet | Associate Lighting Designer |
Lighting designer: Michael Hulls Choreographer: Russell Maliphant |
Sep 2019 |
| Shall We Just Retire to the Lake? / When It Arrives | Dance | Messums Wiltshire | Lighting Designer |
Choreographer: Ruby Portus , Choreographer: Anthony Matsena |
Sep 2019 |
| Me and My Girl | Musical | Frinton Summer Theatre | Lighting Designer |
Director: Ben Stock Set designer: Gregor Donnelly |
Aug 2019 |
| Together, Not the Same | Dance | Sadler's Wells Theatre | Lighting Designer |
Choreographer: Christopher Thomas , Choreographer: Ruby Portus , Choreographer: Anthony Matsena , Choreographer: Wilhelmina Ojanen |
Jul 2019 |
| Left From Write | Dance |
Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, then touring Norwegian National Ballet |
Lighting Designer |
Choreographer: Charlotte Edmonds |
Jun 2019, Feb 2020 |
| Crave | Theatre |
The Other Room, Cardiff RWCMD/The Other Room |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Samantha Jones Set designer: Mimi Donaldson, Set designer: Zoe Brennan |
May 2019 |
| Hauntings and Pork Pies | Theatre |
Powis Castle Theatr Clwyd / National Trust |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Hannah Noone Set designer: Heledd Rees |
Apr 2019 |
| The Thread | Dance | Sadler's Wells Theatre | Associate Lighting Designer |
Lighting designer: Michael Hulls Choreographer: Russell Maliphant |
Mar 2019 |
| Becoming | Musical | Stratford Circus, London | Lighting Designer |
Director: Debo Oluwatuminu |
Mar 2019 |
| Pippin | Musical |
The Gate, Cardiff University of Wales Trinity Saint David |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Angharad Lee Set designer: Cory Shipp |
Feb 2019 |
| Robin Hood | Theatre | The Watermill Theatre | Lighting Designer |
Director: Laura Keefe Set designer: Frankie Bradshaw |
Nov 2018 |
| Easy Virtue | Theatre | The Watermill Theatre | Lighting Designer |
Director: Seamus Allen Set designer: Cory Shipp |
Nov 2018 |
| Cardiff Boy | Theatre |
The Other Room, Cardiff Red Oak Theatre |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Matthew Holmquist Set designer: April Dalton |
Nov 2018 |
| The Island | Theatre | Fio | Lighting Designer |
Director: ABDUL SHAYEK Set designer: BECKY DAVIES |
Oct 2018 |
| Wondertown | Musical |
Ugly Duck, Tanner Street Bohemians Theatre Company |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Benjamin Mowbray Set designer: Kimmy Hanseo Kim |
Jun 2018 |
| The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives | Theatre |
The Arcola Theatre Elufowoju jr Ensemble |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Femi Elufowoju jr Set designer: Ultz |
Jun 2018 |
| Dames | Theatre |
The Pleasance London Siberian Lights |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Jamie Garven Set designer: April Dalton |
Apr 2018 |
| Assassins | Non-professional |
Stratford Circus, London Rose Bruford College |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Laura Keefe Set designer: Sarah Kemp |
Mar 2018 |
| Finding Mr Hart | Theatre |
Blackburn Cotton Exchange Being Human Festival |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Will Maynard Set designer: Anna Lewis |
Nov 2017 |
| Under Glass | Dance | Clod Ensemble | Touring Re-Lighter |
Lighting designer: Hansjorg Schmidt Set designer: Sarah Blenkinsop |
Oct 2017 |
| The River | Theatre |
Loco Klub, Bristol Red Oak Theatre Co. |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Matthew Holmquist Set designer: April Dalton |
Sep 2017 |
| Landmines | Theatre |
Ovalhouse Theatre Bridge Theatre Company |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Emma Higham Set designer: Ryan Dawson-Laight |
Jun 2017 |
| After the Heat We Battle for the Heart | Theatre |
The Vaults Tangled Thread |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Carla Kingham |
Feb 2016 |
Location availability:
- UK London
- UK Provinces
- Worldwide
| Contact method | Details |
|---|---|
| Email address | ryan@rjsld.com |
| Website | www.rjsld.com |
| Agent name | Jasmine Daines Pilgrem |
| Agent email | jasmine@lisarichards.co.uk |
| Agent phone | +44 (0) 20 7287 1441 |
Theatre:
- Regional (Main House)
- Regional (Studio)
- Fringe / Pub Theatre
- Education Establishment
- Touring relights
Musical:
- Regional (Main House)
- Small Scale / Fringe
- Pantomime
- Education Establishment
Opera:
- Small scale
- Touring relights
Dance:
- International
- UK National Company
- Large Scale
- Medium Scale
News
Appearing here soon... a collection of articles from the Focus magazine archives.
Portfolio
Press quotes
Shades of Blue
prison cells of light and zombie motion … the chaotic repetitions of protest and imprisonment capture an emotion of 2020 better than anything else in ‘Dancing Nation.’
Brian Seibert, New York Times 28/01/2021
Not Quite Jerusalem
Design by Ceci Calf and lighting by Ryan Joseph Stafford create a believable world with some beautiful images.
Derek Benfield, UK Theatre Web
..lit with poetic imagination by the also new and one-to-watch Ryan Joseph Stafford: his handling of density, saturation and fading, combined with an unerring sense of what to do with the set, make his work a joy in itself.
Julian Eaves, British Theatre
Wind of Heaven
…lithe changes in lighting help create a world imbued with a heavenly glow.
Mert Dilek, The Stage
The lighting design by Ryan Joseph Stafford is glowingly warm for much of the play, but there are also poignant apocalyptic bursts that startlingly interrupt the domestic quietude at crucial moments.
Richard Beck, Broadway Baby
Together, Not the Same
This caging of the dancers is viscerally presented as the lighting rigs begin to drop from above the stage, pressing down on the writhing bodies below. It is a powerful piece, and the combination of the dance, lighting and soundscape is perfection.
Esme Mahoney, Upper Circle
Cardiff Boy
..once Ryan Joseph Stafford’s lighting comes into full force, it all makes sense. As Hammett reminisces on times gone by, the lights flicker over the images, creating a beautiful and ethereal atmosphere.
Jafar Iqbal, Wales Arts Review 07/11/2018
..while Ryan Joseph Stafford’s lighting hints at an ethereal outside world brimming with opportunity.
Nicholas Davies, The Stage 07/11/2018
[Ryan Joseph Stafford’s] lighting design is also excellent, with the use of colour, projection and silhouette creating visually stunning moments.
Whiplash Review 07/11/2018
The Island
Ryan Joseph Stafford’s lighting achieves the same effect – when characters John and Winston dream of the outside world the stage takes on a hauntingly bright, almost ethereal, quality. Reality is far dimmer, enhancing the claustrophobia..
Jafar Iqbal, Wales Arts Review 24/10/2018
Dames
The design, highlighted by Ryan Joseph Stafford’s lights, brings just the right amount of stylisation and other worldliness to Dames, which keeps the content raw, but still allows the audience to celebrate and enjoy what is being revealed.
Eloise Poulton, The Spy in the Stalls 20/04/2018
