Central Graduate Wins Linbury Prize 2017
Central graduate Khadija Raza has been named as a winner of the 2017 Linbury Prize for Stage Design.
Announced at a ceremony at the National Theatre, 2017 BA Design for the Stage graduate Khadija (pictured above, far right) picked up her award for Dido, an opera she will design for the Unicorn Theatre in a joint commission between The Unicorn and ENO (English National Opera).
Founded by Anya Sainsbury in 1987, the prestigious prize – which offers graduating designers the opportunity to work with established directors on a professional commission with a major company – was judged by a panel including designers Tom Piper, Nicky Shaw and Rae Smith.
Currently Assistant Designer to Gate Theatre’s Rosie Elnile (another graduate of BA Design for Stage and recent Stage Debut Award winner for Best Designer) on The Unknown Island (Gate Theatre), Khadija has already built up a strong professional portfolio.
Previously she worked with Annemarie Woods on L’heure Espagnole and Gianni Schicci (Opera Nationale de Lorraine), James Cotteril for the British Youth Opera on English Eccentrics and Owen Wingrave (Peacock Theatre), and Geraldine Pilgrim on her site-specific, promenade piece, Well (Sanofi Factory, Dagenham).
At Central she was Costume Designer on From Morning to Midnight (2016)
Khadija commented: “As a young designer and recent graduate, the Linbury prize is an invaluable opportunity for me to present my work and meet experienced theatre makers. The prize has given me the chance to work on a professional production of a scale that I wouldn’t have been able to work on otherwise. I hope to continue my work in theatre and use this opportunity to establish myself in the industry.”
Alongside Khadija, this year’s successful Linbury Prize applicants and their projects include Eleanor Bull (Windrush: Movement of the People, Phoenix Dance Theatre) and Fin Redshaw (Pieces of String, Mercury Theatre, Colchester).
This year’s overall winner is Basia Binkowska who will design o t h e l l o m a c b e t h at the Lyric Hammersmith.
The work of all 12 finalists can be seen in a new exhibition at the National Theatre’s Lyttleton Lounge until 2 January 2018.
Photo: © Sheila Burnett