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Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Celebrates Theatre Design Success with Lady Anya Sainsbury |
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama hosted a dinner on 22 May to present Lady Anya Sainsbury with an Honorary Fellowship, celebrating her role as founder of the Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design. Past college winners will be joining her to celebrate 20 years of this prestigious and innovative award which has become a byword for talent, quality and imagination on stage.“Lady Sainsbury has done more than anyone else to nurture young graduates embarking on a career in stage design,” says Royal Welsh College Principal Hilary Boulding, “Many of our leading theatre stage designers first achieved national recognition through this award - several of those were young graduates of our college. Winning the Prize enabled them to take their first steps in careers that today span the leading theatres and opera houses internationally. Our Fellowship honours Anya for her commitment and dedication.” “I am really touched to be receiving this Fellowship,” said Lady Sainsbury, “I have always admired the quality of the work coming out of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. It wasn’t there at the start, in 1987, but suddenly there was an extra light flashing and it was clear that there was something very special going on.” The Linbury Biennial Prize is the UK’s foremost award for emerging theatre designers, providing a launch pad for the careers of Theatre Designers. The winning entries are exhibited at the National Theatre and from 2009 the National Theatre will take over the management of this prize, an acknowledgement of its acclaim. Since 2001 Royal Welsh College students have consistently been among the award’s finalists: last year Tom Scutt and Rhys Jarman were among the four winners. Tom Scutt also won the Jocelyn Herbert Award and finalist Sophie Mosburger won a Royal Opera House Bursary. Head of Theatre Design Sean Crowley adds, “The legacy of Linbury is evident in the list of distinguished finalists who have gone on to become some of the most significant practitioners of the late 20th and early 21st century.” He continues, “It stands as a beacon of excellence throughout the UK and internationally. Over the past ten years students of Royal Welsh College have been privileged to enter, compete and excel as a part of the Linbury prize. It is a unique competition that is accepted within the industry as a crucial component in fostering the future of theatre design.” The Theatre Design department at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama prides itself on preparing students to go on to achieve success in a competitive and demanding industry, in film and television as well as theatre. Production Designer on BBC Wales’ Dr Who and Torchwood Edward Thomas has commented on the huge number of students and graduates that have passed through his productions, with 15 of them being significant members of his current team. James North, (2004) for example is now an Associate Designer on Dr Who. Colin Richmond, a finalist from 2003, has gone on to establish an extremely successful career as a theatre designer, designing for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the West end among many others. Adam Wiltshire (a Linbury winner in 2003) has designed across the UK in Theatre and Opera and to great acclaim for the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. Work from RWCMD Theatre Design students can be seen at the Bute Theatre, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff 5-11 June and Soho Theatre, London 27-28 June. |
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| Helen Dunning e-mail: helen.dunning@rwcmd.ac.uk |
Friday, May 23, 2008 |
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