Top Designers Take Young Hopefuls To Next Stage

Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design announces Judges for 2005 as record numbers enter the competition

20th July 2005, London: Three of the theatre world’s most eminent stage designers are to act as judges for the Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design 2005. Professor Pamela Howard, Tobias Hoheisel and Julian Crouch will review all of the 90 portfolios submitted from UK and international applicants and select around 20 to go forward to the next round. The prize attracted a record number of entries this year as recent graduates become increasingly aware of the advantages of being a Linbury winner.

The first part of the judging process takes three days. The judges spend the first day looking at all the portfolios before reducing the number going forward to the next stage by around half. The judges then meet with all these graduates to discuss their work and ideas in order to draw up a short-list of around 20.

The next round, Designers’ Day, takes place on 29th July at the National Theatre. Four artistic directors from leading UK theatre companies will meet short-listed finalists and review their work, selecting three designers each to work with them on designs for forthcoming productions.

The commissioning companies and artistic directors for 2005 are:

The 12 finalists will exhibit models and designs produced during their time spent working with the commissioning companies at an exhibition running from 10th November – 10th December at the National Theatre.

At the exhibition, four winners will be selected to have their designs made into productions with the four companies and the overall winner will be announced. The winning designers will share around £50,000 in prize money, design commissions and production sponsorship.

The Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design is the only competition of its kind in the UK. Founded in 1987 by Lady Anya Sainsbury, CBE, the prize provides recent graduates from theatre design courses across the country with unparalleled opportunities for success and exposure at a crucial moment in their career.

Lady Anya Sainsbury CBE, Linbury founder and chair of the Linbury Committee said: “The three judges bring an impressive weight of collective experience to the selection process and ensure that the participating graduates are being evaluated by some of the best designers working today”.

About the Judges

Professor Pamela Howard is a practising scenographer, director, curator, teacher and writer. Her book, What is Scenography? (Routledge UK/USA), has now been translated into several languages. In 2002 she directed and designed her own version of the 15th Century Spanish Classic La Celestina at the Hopkins Center USA. Following several experimental music theatre productions, in June 2005 she directed and designed Martinu’s opera The Greek Passion at the National Theatre of Northern Greece Opera, Thessaloniki. Her second book Designing Nothing is in preparation, and a further new production Please Take a Seat will be presented as part of the Belgrade International Theatre Festival 2005

Tobias Hoheisel is an internationally renowned theatre designer whose work is regularly used by the most famous theatres and opera houses in the world. Currently Glimmerglass Opera in New York and the Glyndebourne Festival are using his designs for productions of Cosi Fan Tutte and Bartered Bride respectively. Other institutions he has worked with include Los Angeles Opera, Sante Fe Opera, English National Opera and the Royal Opera House where he won a Lawrence Oliver award in 2001 for his production of Boulevard. He trained at the Hochschule der Künste, Berlin and now lives in Sussex.

Julian Crouch is a director, designer, writer, maker and teacher whose career has spanned theatre, opera, film and television. Along with Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson, he is a founder member and artistic director of Improbable, a company that has won many awards and acclaim both critically and publicly. Julian recently co-directed and co-designed A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Hamburg and designed Jerry Springer the Opera in the West End. Julian also co-directed and designed Shockheaded Peter with Phelim McDermott. Julian is the first theatre designer to receive a NESTA fellowship award

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Further Information

A dedicated online media resource supports the 2005 Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design. It contains full information about the Linbury Biennial and the competition. All press releases are made available on the site along with high-resolution pictures for download. View the site at: www.kallaway.co.uk/linbury.htm

High-resolution Pictures

Pictures of the Designer Judges are available on our website. Set designs and commissioning company productions from the 2003 Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design can also be downloaded for your use. View and download images: www.kallaway.co.uk/linbury_picture_library.htm

Linbury Biennial Press And Competition Information

Anna Cusden (media) anna.cusden@kallaway.co.uk 020 7221 7883
David Nagle (competition) david.nagle@kallaway.co.uk 020 7221 7883

Notes To Editors

The Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design was founded by Anya Sainsbury in 1987. The prize is open to recent graduates from theatre design courses across the country, many of whom are originally from outside the UK. Twelve finalists get the chance to work with four professional performing arts production companies and exhibit their work at the National Theatre. Four of the 12 win a commission to realise their designs with the commissioning companies and one student is awarded the overall winner's title. The Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design is sponsored by the Linbury Trust, one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts.

Lady Anya Sainsbury CBE, Chair of the Linbury Biennial Committee.

After a distinguished career as Anya Linden with the Royal Ballet Company from 1951 to 1965, becoming a ballerina in 1958, she retired from the company and went on to study stage design at the Slade School of Art. She married John Sainsbury in 1963 and has continued to be actively involved in the Royal Ballet School and the Rambert School, both as a teacher and on their governing bodies.

About the Linbury Trust

The Linbury Trust is a charitable trust; it was established by Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover KG, and his wife Anya, Lady Sainsbury, CBE. The trustees of the Linbury Trust make grants to organisations and towards causes across a broad range of categories, including the Arts and Art Education, Social Welfare, Drug Abuse, Education, Environment and Heritage, Older People, Medical, and Developing Countries. Trustees give priority to causes in which they have a particular interest and where they have particular knowledge and experience, as exemplified by their support for the Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design.

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