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Meet the recipients of the Linbury Prize for Stage Design 2023

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12 emerging designers from across the UK have been announced as the recipients of this year’s Linbury Prize for Stage Design 2023, part of the National Theatre and the Linbury Trust’s commitment to supporting designers to develop a sustainable career in stage design. 

Recipients of the biannual prize are awarded a bursary of £5,000 and a design placement with an established industry designer or producing organisation. Recipients will gain first-hand experience of the production process and develop their skills further.

This year’s judging panel included award winning designers Georgia Lowe, Tom Piper, Jean-Marc Puissant and Rajha Shakiry.

The prize recipients will take part in an exhibition at the National Theatre from 13 November 2023 to showcase their work to the public and industry professionals.

The 12 recipients are an exciting and diverse group of artists and I can’t wait to see their incredible work exhibited at the National Theatre.

This exhibition is always an amazing opportunity for the public to get a unique insight into the craft, care and commitment that goes into designing for performance.
Georgia Lowe, judge for the Linbury Prize for Stage Design 2023

Meet the recipients

A headshot of a person with long, brown hair and wearing a patterned shirt

Ania Levy

Ania Levy is a performance designer based in London.
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Photo by Fiona Rae

A photograph of a person with a wavy bob haircut and a wearing a white collar shit with a pale blue jumper

Bethan Wall

Bethan Wall is a set and costume designer for performance.
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Photo by Károly Tendl

 

A person with long pale orange hair wearing a white sleeveless top

Biz Sutton

Biz Sutton is a performance costume designer.
Edinburgh College of Art
Photo by Biz Sutton

 

 

A photograph of a young person with short brown hair and a mustache

Finlay Jenner

Finlay Jenner is performance designer and theatre-maker from South London.
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Photo by Tallulah Pollock

A photograph of a young person with long brown, wavy hair and wearing red lipstick

Jodie Yates

Jodie Yates is a designer and maker, based in Cardiff and London.
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Photo by the subject

A photograph of a person wearing glasses, with a grey-ish beard and wearing a beige jacket and navy blue t-shirt

Nitin Parmar

Nitin Parmar is a multidisciplinary designer and artist.
London College of Fashion (UAL)
Photo by the subject

A photograph of a person with very long blonde hair

Ola Kłos

Born and raised in Poland, Ola Kłos is a designer who has divided her life between Poland, Switzerland and the UK.
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Photo by the subject

A photograph of a person wearing a sleeveless black top with black hair and red lipstick

Peiyao Wang

Peiyao Wang is a Chinese production designer for theatre and screen, based in London.
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Photo by Joe Lee

A person with very long blonde hair wearing a long-sleeved black top

Tallulah Caskey

Tallulah Caskey is a London-based set and costume designer.
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Photo by the subject

A black and white photo of a person smiling wearing a black cardigan and carrying a leopard toy

Tiffany Fraser Steele

Tiffany Fraser Steele is a designer who’s previously worked as a Senior Fashion Editor, styling and directing fashion shoots and shows.
London College of Fashion (UAL)
Photo by Olivia Steward

A person with long, black hair wearing a long-sleeved white top

Yijing Chen

Yijing Chen is a designer and illustrator from China.
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Photo by the subject

A person with black hair in a bob haircut, standing against a sunset on the beach

Yimei Zhao

Yimei Zhao is a performance designer based in London.
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Photo by Hanxiao Luo

Gallery

Explore the designs and artwork of the 12 Linbury Prize recipients 2023

A model set featuring an older woman pulling a shopping bag behind her in front of a white landscape that looks like a kitchen snowed under
A model set featuring an older woman pulling a shopping bag behind her in front of a white landscape that looks like a kitchen snowed under
A model set featuring an older woman pulling a shopping bag behind her in front of a white landscape that looks like a kitchen snowed under
View 12 images
A model set featuring boards with barred windows, corrugated iron and wooden hoardings A collage featuring a line of ladies all dressed in multicoloured dresses and hats, ready for the races A person wearing a light blue outfit with strands of blue fabric attached to their waist and fanned out around and above them Two people sat on wooden chairs on raised wooden daises opposite one another, with blue rope tangled between them Two sketches of an abstract black costume made of different materials A model box featuring a grey, abstract set with figures in front, standing, sitting and someone in a wheelchair A white cherry tree with the outline of a house hung around it A set of 15 collages of people dressed in an array of costumes A set of four images with model designs, featuring a red and white circus tent and a clock design on the floor with a red curtain on the side A model box design featuring wooden boxes as raked seating with wooden crosses on the wall Two people dressed in white standing in front of a projection featuring a pair of eyes

The Linbury Prize is the only nationwide prize for stage design in the UK, launching the careers of over 200 young talented stage designers since its founding in 1987 by Lady Anya Sainsbury. Previous recipients include Es Devlin in 1995 (recent work at the National Theatre includes Dear England and The Crucible), Peter Butler in 2021, who designed the set for the National Theatre’s schools touring production of Shut Up, I’m Dreaming, and 2019 recipient Rose Revitt who designed the public installation of ‘The Tree’ at the National Theatre.

For more information, please visit the Linbury Prize website.