Who We Are

The Linbury Prize is steered by a committee: Caro Newling (chair), Jon Bausor, Bob Crowley, Sean Crowley, Professor Pamela Howard, Vicki Mortimer, David Pritchard, Anya Sainsbury CBE, and Philip Lawford, administrator of the Linbury Trust.

Caro Newling is a director of NEAL STREET PRODUCTIONS, formed in 2003 with Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris to make theatre, film and television. Current theatre projects include The Bridge Project, a three year international initiative with The Brooklyn Academy and the Old Vic Theatre, Shrek the Musical at Drury Lane co-produced with Dreamworks Animation, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in development with Warner Bros. In addition to its collaborations with subsided partners on the West End/Broadway transfers of Enron, Red, Hamlet, Mary Stuart, Sunday in the Park with George, Neal Street has produced Three Days of Rain ,The Vertical Hour, All About My Mother, The House of Special Purpose, The Hound of the Baskervilles; Anna in the Tropics, Days of Wine and Roses and Fuddy Meers. Newling and Mendes established and ran the Donmar Warehouse in 1992, establishing the theatre’s international standing over ten years with some 70 productions. A former trustee of the National Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre, Newling is currently Chair of Paines Plough and a trustee of the Society of London Theatre.
 

Jon Bausor trained on the Motley Theatre Design course after studying Music as a choral scholar at Oxford University. Theatre credits include Silence (RSC, Filter), The Homecoming (RSC), Lord of The Flies (Regents Park) KURSK (Sound and Fury/Young Vic; Evening Standard Best Design nomination), and James and the Giant Peach (Octagon, Bolton, Manchester Evening News Awards Best Design nomination). Design credits for opera include The Knot Garden (Theatre an der Wien, Vienna) and The Human Comedy (Opera Group/Young Vic). Design credits for dance include Blood Wedding (Finnish National Ballet), Pleasure’s Progress, Ghosts, Before the Tempest (ROH), A Tale of Two Cities (Northern Ballet Theatre) and Scribblings (Rambert).

Bob Crowley has designed over 20 productions for the National Theatre, most recently Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Gethsemane, Fram (also co-directed), The History Boys (also on Broadway - Tony Award), His Girl Friday and Mourning Becomes Electra, and more than 25 for the RSC, including: Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Plantagenets, for which he won an Olivier Award. Other credits include Don Carlo and La Traviata (ROH); Into the Woods and Orpheus Descending for the Donmar Warehouse; Pavane and Anastasia (Royal Ballet); The Magic Flute (ENO); The Cunning Little Vixen (Châtelet); The Coast of Utopia and Carousel (Lincoln Center Theater, New York - Tony Award for both); The Seagull (Public Theatre New York); Paul Simon's The Capeman, The Sweet Smell Of Success, and Disney's Aida (Broadway - Tony Award for the latter). Most recent work includes Tarzan for Disney which he also directed (Broadway and The Netherlands); Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre & Broadway - Tony Award); and The Year of Magical Thinking (Broadway and National Theatre). He is a recipient of the Royal Designer for Industry Award.

Sean Crowley graduated from Wimbledon School of Art in 1985. He has worked across the UK and Europe as a designer. In September 1999 Sean became Head of Design at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He continues to design although his greater commitment is now given to education. Sean has recently become the UK representative on the OISTAT education commitee, and will be co-ordinating the Scenofest at the Prague Quaddrennial in 2007.

Professor Pamela Howard OBE is a practising scenographer, director, curator, teacher and writer. The second edition of "What is Scenography?" (Routledge UK/USA) will be published in June 2009. In 2005 she directed and designed the opera The Greek Passion (Martinu/Kazantsakis), National Theatre of Northern Greece Opera, Thessaloniki, a site specific staging. In 2008 she created Sao Paolo Stories, Espaco Cenografico Sao Paulo Brazil, and performance workshops Teatro Castro Alves , Salvador, and Theatre and Ritual Festival, Taipei, Taiwan. In 2009 she was Project Designer for The Great Game Tricycle Theatre Kilburn.  In October 2009 she will be Director/Designer on The Marriage (Martinu) National Theatre of BRNO, CZ. In 2008 was awarded OBE for Services to Drama.

Vicki Mortimer studied at the Slade School of Art and her opera designs include Così fan tutte, The Miserly Knight, Gianni Schicchi (GFO); Jephtha, Jenůfa, Kát'a Kabanová (WNO); The Turn of the Screw (Scottish Opera); Salome (ENO). She has worked extensively with the RSC and NT,. She has also designed for Random Dance Co; the Royal Ballet; NDT; the Almeida Theatre; Donmar Warehouse; Crucible Theatre, Sheffield; Gate Theatre; Shochiku Theatre, Japan; National Theatre, Ireland. Recent work includes Waves, The Seagull, Attempts on Her Life, The Man of Mode, A Matter of Life and Death (NT); The Wild Duck (Donmar Warehouse); costumes for Fiddler on the Roof and Nine (Broadway); Jumpers (NT, Piccadilly Theatre, Broadway); Easter and Natt och Drommar (Royal Dramatic Theatre Stockholm); Boy Gets Girl, Mountain Language/Ashes to Ashes, My Zinc Bed, The Country (Royal Court); The Seagull (RSC and tour); The Real Thing (Donmar Warehouse, West End, Broadway).

Anya Sainsbury CBE had a distinguished career as Anya Linden with the Royal Ballet Company from 1951 to 1965, becoming a ballerina in 1958. After retiring from the company, she studied stage design at the Slade School of Art. She has continued to be actively involved in the Royal Ballet School and the Rambert School, both as a teacher and on their governing bodies. Anya established the Linbury Prize for Stage Design in 1987.