12 brilliant young theatre design graduates from across the UK are announced as recipients of the prestigious 2021 Linbury Prize for Stage Design, in partnership with The Linbury Trust and the National Theatre.
In response to an unprecedented year of disruption for students and uncertainty for emerging theatre-makers, 12 graduates have been awarded with a £5,000 bursary each and a design associate placement alongside an established designer. Working on a variety of productions across theatre, film and television, the recipients will gain first-hand experience of the production process, as part of the NT and The Linbury Trust’s commitment to supporting new talent starting out in the industry.
This year’s recipients of the award are Ruth Badila (Wimbledon College of Arts), Blythe Brett (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), Peter Butler (Central St Martins) Choy-Ping Clarke-Ng (Bristol Old Vic), Cat Fuller (Bristol Old Vic), Valentine Gigandet (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), Petros Kourtellaris (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), Hei Tung Kwok (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama), Jiayi Liu (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), Tomás Palmer (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) Daniel Southwell (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) and Pip Terry (Wimbledon College of Arts). Click here to see a portfolio of each recipients work.
The Linbury Prize is a bi-annual prize for excellence in stage design founded by Lady Anya Sainsbury in 1987 and has supported the careers of emerging stage designers right across the UK for more than 32 years.
Tom Piper, award-winning theatre designer, committee member and on the judging panel said,
“It is more important than ever to support the next generation of emerging designers and artists in the creative industries and it was a privilege to meet so many outstanding and enthusiastic theatre artists, passionate about their work and the future of theatre. We are delighted to award 12 outstanding designers from across the breadth of the UK with the Linbury Prize and the opportunity to learn and be mentored by a designer at the highest level to support the first steps of their promising careers.”
The judging panel this year included award-winning designers Tom Piper, Ana Ines Jabares-Pita, Sami Fendall, Jean Chan and Georgia Lowe. The competition was open to designers from graduating classes 2020 and 2021 and submissions and judging took place online to encourage graduates from across the UK to apply.
THE LINBURY PRIZE FOR STAGE DESIGN 2021
"Being a finalist in The Linbury Prize in 2011 gave my career a huge step up- not only did it give my work a fantastic platform, but I also developed more confidence to make necessary contacts within the industry.
Being one of the judges this year has been an honour. What struck me most was the enormous amount of ingenuity and self-discipline these designers have had in the face of what has been a very tricky couple of years. The Linbury Prize is an opportunity to nurture this talent and this year in particular, to give all the finalists the chance to work on a large-scale show with an established designer."
Georgia Lowe, Designer
