Nicky is an international set and costume designer living in London.
She trained at West Sussex & West Surrey Colleges of Art & Design and works mainly in opera, but also in theatre, musical theatre, t.v. and film.
Nicky has designed productions for many leading opera companies, both nationally, including; Royal Opera House; Scottish Opera; Welsh National Opera; Glyndebourne Opera and Garsington Opera and extensively in Europe, including; Royal Danish Opera; Danish National Opera; Royal Swedish Opera; Komische Oper; Frankfurt Oper; Mariinsky Theatre; and Théatre Royal de la Monnaie, as-well-as productions in Seoul, South Korea (Opera Theatre and Towol Theatre).
She has collaborated on many critically acclaimed productions with international opera directors including: with Orpha Phelan, La Cenerentola, Irish National Opera; Dead Man Walking (winner Best Opera, Reumart Awards), Royal Danish Opera; with Annilese Miskimmon, Madama Butterfly, Glyndebourne Festival & Tour; Semele, Garsington Opera; Jenufa, Royal Swedish Opera, Danish National Opera and for Scottish Opera (nominated for Achievement in Opera, UK Theatre Awards); La Traviata (joint winner The Renee Stepham Award for Best Presentation of Touring Theatre), Scottish Opera; Don Quichotte (winner of the Audience Award and Best Production Award, Performing Arts Centre Aarhus and Newspaper Stiftidende’s), Danish National Opera; Mignon (nominated Best Opera, South Bank Sky Awards), Buxton Opera Festival and also The Magic Flute, The Diary of Anne Frank and The Coronation of Poppea (all nominated Best Opera, Irish Times); with Keith Warner; Orfeo, ROH at Sam Wanamaker Theatre; Peter Pan, WNO, ROH and Komische Oper and with Stephen Medcalf; Norma, Teatro Lirico, Sardinia. Also, for international musical director Paul Garrington, she designed the new musical Dancing Shadows (winner 5 Korean Musical Awards, including Best Musical) Opera Theatre, Seoul, and with whom Nicky founded Toye Productions.
Nicky was production & costume designer on short film Assessment (winner – Jury Award, Film London’s Best of Borough).
In addition to her career in theatre, she has worked as an interior and exhibition designer, on projects for fashion designer and businessman Jasper Conran and with architect and exhibition designer Tim Pyne.
Nicky gave a talk at the V&A as part of London Craft Week 2018, serves on the committee and is a company Director of the Society of British Theatre Designers and was a judge for the Linbury Prize for Stage Designers in 2017. She greatly enjoys mentoring young designers.