SPOTLIGHT FALLS ON 20 YEAR SUCCESS OF STAGE DESIGN PRIZE
Curtain up for this year's Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design

08 May 2007, London: A prize that seeks to uncover some of Britain's most talented young stage designers, and whose previous winners include Tony award-winning Tim Hatley and Olivier award-winning Anthony Ward, is celebrating 20 years of success and calling for new talent to enter this year's competition.

The Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design opens for entries on 12 May and is available to final year students from 2007 and graduates from 2006 from theatre design degree or postgraduate courses recognised on the website of the Society of British Theatre Designers: www.theatredesign.org.uk or by the Association of Courses in Theatre Design.

Portfolios must be with Kallaway at 2 Portland Road, London, W11 4LA, by 16 July 2007.

The prize offers an opportunity for:

	Twelve Finalists:
		Have their work seen and reviewed by some of the best theatre designers in the country.
		Work with four professional production companies for four months.
		Display their designs at the National Theatre, at which a series of exclusive events will be held and the winners announced.
	Four Linbury Winners:
		Receive a commission to design sets and costumes from four professional production companies (one Linbury Winner per production company).
		Join an exclusive group of Linbury Biennial winners
		Receive a combined total of £66,000 for prize money, design commissions and production sponsorship

From the four Linbury Biennial Winners one will be recognised as the Overall Winner, The Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design 2007.

The Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design, founded by Lady Anya Sainsbury, has helped launch the careers of over 150 graduating stage designers since its inception in 1987, providing professional commissions, contact with key industry figures and national exposure at a crucial moment in their careers.

The 2007 Linbury Biennial commissioning companies are:

Hampstead Theatre
Artistic Director: Anthony Clark

Headlong Theatre
Artistic Director: Rupert Goold

The Opera Group
Artistic Director: John Fulljames

Tricycle Theatre
Artistic Director: Nicolas Kent

Portfolios and designs are judged by some of the UK's most respected theatre designers, artistic directors and actors. Previous judges have included, Tom Cairns, John Macfarlane, Dame Judi Dench and Lez Brotherstone. Judges for the 2007 Linbury Biennial will be announced shortly.

END

Further Information

A dedicated online media resource supports the 2007 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: http://www.kallaway.co.uk/linbury.htm


Linbury Biennial Press Information
Anna Cusden
anna.cusden@kallaway.co.uk
020 7221 7883

Twenty Years of Success
Some of the most important stage designers working today are previous winners of the Linbury prize. These include:

• Tim Hatley, a Linbury winner from 1987, won a Tony award in 2002 for Private Lives on Broadway, and two Olivier awards for Humble Boy at the National Theatre and Private Lives at the Albery Theatre. His film work includes Closer and Notes on a Scandal. His designs are currently being used in Rafta Rafta at the National Theatre and Spamalot in London and on Broadway.
  
  
• Anthony Ward, also a winner from 1987, is a leading designer for musical theatre whose credits include Oliver!, Okalahoma on Broadway and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in London. He won an Olivier award for his designs for Oklahoma.
  
  
• Vicki Mortimer, a winner from 1989, has designed extensively for the National Theatre including Closer, Jumpers and a forhcoming production A Matter of Life and Death. In 2006 she designed for Nicholas Hynter's production of Cosí fan tutte at Glynebourne and is working on St Matthew Passion for this year's festival. Other credits include The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, and A Winter's Tale for the RSC and The Wild Duck and The Real Thing for the Donmar Warehouse.
  
  
• Es Devlin, a winner from 1995, has worked extensively abroad and in the UK, including designing sets for A Midnsummer Night's Dream at the Hamburg Staatsoper and Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Teater an der Wien. In 2008 she is designing for Salome at the Royal Opera House and following the success of designs for Kanye West's US Tour, she is currently working on designs for Pet Shop Boy's World Tour. In 2006 she won an Olivier Award for Costume Design for Dog in the Manger part of the RSC Spanish Golden Age Season.
  
  
• Adam Wiltshire, a winner from 2003, has already had his designs used twice on the main stage of the Royal Opera House by leading choreographer Alastair Marriot for Tanglewood and, Children of Men. His work has also been used in productions at the Unicorn Theatre and the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Conditions of Entry
The prize is open to final year students from 2007 and graduates from 2006 from Theatre Design degree or postgraduate courses recognised on the website of the Society of British Theatre Designers: www.theatredesign.org.uk or by the Association of Courses in Theatre Design. For further information go to: www.linburybiennial.org.uk

History of the Prize
The Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design was founded by Anya Sainsbury in 1987. The prize is open to recent graduates of any nationality from theatre design courses across the country. 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 designer 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, 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.

END OF ALL