Linbury Biennial

Southwark resident and RADA graduate Lorna Ritchie is one of 12 finalists displaying their stage designs.

Ritchie has worked on productions including The Entertainer at The Old Vic and On the Middle Day at the Imperial War Museum.

Four winners will be selected to have their designs made into productions and the overall Linbury Biennial winner will be announced. The winning designers will share around 66,000 in prize money, design commissions and production sponsorship.

In the coming months Ritchie, along with two other finalists, will be asked to design for a new work of musical theatre Varjak Paw by Julian Philips, produced by The Opera Group. Varjak Paw, based on the acclaimed books by Lebanon-born Londoner SF Said, tells the story of a Mesopotamian blue kitten growing up in an urban world of street gangs.

The Linbury Biennial, founded in 1987 by Lady Anya Sainsbury, is the only prize of its kind and gives recently graduated stage designers an unparalleled opportunity to work with professional theatre companies, collaborate with writers, directors and technical teams at a crucial stage in their careers.