Originally an architecture student, Thomson dropped out of university to become an artist, and began working in theatre after meeting director
Jim Sharman in 1969. They had a long and successful work collaboration together, beginning at the
Old Tote Theatre Company, before working on a series of hugely successful musical productions including the Melbourne production of
Hair, and the original Australian and London productions of
Jesus Christ Superstar and
The Rocky Horror Show. When Sharman directed
The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie based on the musical, and its sequel
Shock Treatment, Thomson worked on their set design again. and Australian productions of
Company,
The Boy from Oz, and
Priscilla: Queen of the Desert the Musical. with credits including
Holding the Man,
Keating!,
The Gates of Egypt,
Capricornia,
Stuff Happens,
Run Rabbit Run,
Buried Child,
My Zinc Bed,
The Laramie Project,
Aftershocks,
The Tempest,
The Master Builder and
Ghosts. For
Sydney Theatre Company, where he was Associate Director in 1981, Thomson has designed for productions of
Chicago,
Festen,
The Ham Funeral,
Coriolanus,
King Lear,
The Real Thing,
The One Day of the Year,
Up for Grabs,
The White Devil,
A Cheery Soul,
The Doll Trilogy,
Arcadia, and
Steel City. In 1982 he directed and designed
The Stripper, which opened Sydney Theatre Company's second venue Kinsela Theatre. The new musical was adapted from the novel by
Carter Brown. Thomson has designed opera for
Opera Australia,
Welsh National Opera, the
English National Opera, the
Royal Opera, London, and for films including
The Rocky Horror Picture Show,
Starstruck,
Rebel, and
Ground Zero. In 1983 he made his film directing debut with the short
Night of Shadows, based on
The Shadow Knows a short play he had staged the previous year. He also designed sets for tours by
Kylie Minogue, floats for the 2012
Mardi Gras, and was supervising designer for Sydney
2000 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony, the 2001 Centenary of Federation Ceremony, the
2003 Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony, and the Closing Ceremony of the
2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. His archives are held by
Australian Performing Arts Collection. == Awards ==