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Applications are now open for the biennial nationwide Linbury Prize for Stage Design, the UK’s leading award for emerging industry design talent. With a mission to jumpstart sustainable, high-impact careers, the prize offers a vital launchpad into the world of professional theatre.

Twelve emerging designers will be selected for this year’s Linbury Prize, receiving a bursary prize of £6,000 to support a Linbury Associate Designer placement with an established designer, giving them mentoring and insider access to the full production process.

Last year’s placements included the opportunity to work alongside established designers on major national productions including Rajha Shakiry on The Hot Wing King (National Theatre), Anna Fleischle on Punch (Nottingham Playhouse, Young Vic), Frankie Bradshaw on Pins and Needles (Kiln Theatre) and Georgia Lowe on Little Shop of Horrors (Crucible Sheffield).

The twelve recipients will also have an unparalleled opportunity to showcase their work to the public at an exhibition at the National Theatre. The Linbury Prize exhibition will open on Tuesday 2 December 2025 and will promote fresh creative voices ready to shape the future of stage design.

The Linbury Prize for Stage Design is presented by the National Theatre and supported by The Linbury Trust who are committed to supporting new talent starting out in the industry and addressing urgent sector-wide skills shortages. The creative industries are one of the eight growth driving sectors the Government has prioritised in its Industrial Strategy, however data from DCMS shows 30% of job vacancies in the cultural sector are affected by skills shortages.

Applications are open to UK graduates from theatre design degree or postgraduate courses graduating in 2024 and 2025, as well as emerging designers without a degree who are in the first three years of their professional practice. This year’s judging panel includes stage and costume designers Jean-Marc Puissant, Rajha Shakiry, Max Johns, and Ian MacNeil. Internationally renowned designer Es Devlin was one of the early recipients of the Linbury Prize in 1995, and since gone on to design sets for shows such as Coriolanus and Dear England as well as receive multiple further awards.

Earlier this year the National Theatre Skills Centre held free drop-in Let’s Chat Design sessions, offering aspiring designers the chance to connect directly with the NT Design Skills team and professional designers. Held across the UK in Nottingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool and London, these sessions gave emerging creatives practical career advice, insights into the world of stage design, and expert tips on how to craft a compelling, standout portfolio.

Kate Varah, CEO and Executive Director of the National Theatre, said 

“The Linbury Prize has played an unparallelled role in supporting emerging designers into sustainable careers. Widening applications in 2023 to consider non-traditional routes has been vital in making these roles more accessible and demonstrating our ongoing commitment as a skills incubator. Having seen the work from our last set of recipients on not just the National’s stages but across the UK, I can’t wait to see the creativity and imagination from this year’s cohort of emerging designers.” 

Lady Anya Sainsbury, founder of the Linbury Prize for Stage Design, said

“Throughout my career as a ballerina, I was hugely aware of the wonderful costumes and scenery, and I loved getting to know some of the brilliant theatre designers during ballet productions. Since 1987, the Linbury Prize for Stage Design and the National Theatre have supported a wonderful array of gifted designers in showing their work for the stage, and I cannot wait to see the next generation of talent that will be celebrated through the upcoming round!”

Yimei Zhao, a recipient of the Linbury Prize for Stage Design in 2023,

“The Linbury Prize has provided a fantastic platform for me to showcase my work and step forward as a designer, offering opportunities to work on larger-scale productions while expanding my industry network through meaningful connections and exciting collaborations. I’m truly grateful for the opportunities it has offered me and the doors it continues to open beyond the prize itself.”

Rajha Shakiry, previous Linbury Associate Designer and 2025 Linbury Prize Judge said

“The Linbury Prize has always been seen as a stamp of recognition and offers collaborative opportunities, guidance and feedback to the next generation of talent entering the industry. More recently the award has expanded to include creatives whose qualities both push and challenge the role of a designer, which is especially encouraging for someone like me, who did not follow a conventional route into the industry. With the support of the award and the passionate Linbury Prize team, it’s a great opportunity to embrace and grow from.”

The National Theatre Skills Centre, supported by UK Government investment and in partnership with Bank of America, offers resources, training and professional development opportunities to develop future artists, craftspeople and technicians in the creative industries. Addressing sector-wide skills shortages, the Skills Centre will reach over 15,000 individuals over the next three years.

The Linbury Prize for Stage Design is funded entirely by The Linbury Trust, a charitable trust founded in 1973 by Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover KG (John Sainsbury) and his wife Anya, Lady Anya Sainsbury, CBE, the former ballerina Anya Linden. Inspired by her own studies in theatre design at the Slade School, Anya Linden created the Prize in 1987, and it has been running ever since.

Applications are open now and close on 1 September 2025. For more information and to apply, please visit the Linbury Prize website.