2009

The winners of the Linbury Prize for Stage Design 2009 were announced at a ceremony at the National Theatre on 12 November.

Four young stage design graduates have won a unique opportunity to design a professional production for a major theatre or opera company: Birmingham Opera Company; Sound&Fury in collaboration with Fuel; The Unicorn Theatre, London; and Royal & Derngate, Northampton.

Renowned designers Bob Crowley, Katrina Lindsay and Nick Ormerod selected a shortlist of 25 candidates, from which the four commissioning companies each chose three finalists to work on designs for a forthcoming production. The individual winners are Samal Blak, who trained at Central Saint Martins; Jean Chan, a Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama graduate; Ruth Sutcliffe, who graduated from Central School of Speech and Drama; and Aleš Valášek, who trained on the Motley Theatre Design course. 

Aleš Valášek was also named the overall winner of the Linbury Prize 2009, and wins an extra £1,000 in addition to the £2,000 prize money received by all four winners. The awards were presented by Anya Sainsbury, founder of the Linbury Prize.

Back row, left to right: Francesca Rodrigues, Samal Blak, Ruth Sutcliffe, Aleš Valášek, Anya Sainsbury, Katerina Angelopoulou, Verena Leo, Sarah Bacon, Jean Chan
Front row, left to right: David Woodhead, Cara Ashley Newman, Anna Hourriere, Christopher Faulds