The winners of the Linbury Prize, which recognises the next generation of theatre set designers, have been announced. Entrants submit set designs for shows, with the four winners going on to see their work become a reality.
This year’s overall winner was Basia Binkowska, who will design for othellomacbeth at Lyric Hammersmith. Meanwhile the other commissioned designs are Khadija Raza for Dido (Unicorn Theatre and English National Opera), Eleanor Bull for Windrush: Movement of the People (Phoenix Dance Theatre) and Fin Redshaw for Pieces of String (Mercury Theatre).
“The Linbury Prize remains the most important theatre prize open to recent graduates of UK design schools,” noted competition judge Tom Piper. “We get over 90 applicants and it is a testament to the depth of talent in the students and the extraordinarily dedicated teaching abilities of colleges that the judges have such a tough time selecting the final 12.
“We are really excited this year to have a range of different performance forms in the commissioning companies, which we hope will demonstrate the deep range of skills and ground breaking ideas which the young designers bring to bear on their projects.”
Previous winners of the Linbury Prize include noted designers Tim Hatley, Anthony Ward and Vicki Mortimer. The judging panel for this year’s event was made up of Piper, Nicky Shaw and Rae Smith.
The work of all 12 finalists is now on display in the Lyttelton Lounge at the National Theatre until 2 January.