Robe was delighted to be lining up on the red carpet to welcome guests at the
inaugural The Stage Debut Awards in central London, organised by The Stage,
legendary weekly newspaper dedicated – since 1880 – to reporting on all elements of
the rich and diverse world of entertainment and the performing arts.

The awards were instigated to recognise the best breakthrough actors and rising star
creatives in theatre, with Robe sponsoring the award for “Best Designer’ which was
won by Rosie Elnile for her eye-catching set for ’The Convert’, staged at The Gate
Theatre.

The nine 2017 winners – eight judged by a panel of experts and one selected by
public vote – received their awards in a ceremony at 8 Northumberland Avenue in
central London, with Robe’s theatre project specialist Dave Whitehouse handing over
the Best Designer award to Rosie.

From young actors to established stars making their theatre debuts, highlighting a
plethora of new talent both on and offstage, categories celebrated performers,
writers, composers and directors from all over the country. They illustrated a snapshot
of the massive wealth of talent and creativity that the world of UK theatre and
performance has to offer.

For Robe, theatre is a hugely important sector. With some seriously imaginative and
innovative designers working across the visual performance arts spectrum – lighting,
video and scenic design – this is a major reason why the brand was keen to support
these high profile new Awards.

Says Dave, “Robe has long recognised the importance of new and fresh talent for the
stage. It is essential to the future health of the industry as a whole, and vital to
reward skills, flair and ideas and encourage both practising and aspiring professionals
to raise the bar of what is possible!’

He added that Robe would like to congratulate Rosie and all the Best Designer
nominees and wish them the very best as they grow their careers.
The judges commented that Rosie’s striking red earth and concrete set for The
Convert “made effective and impressive use of the Gate’s compact space’.
The work by Tony-nominated Danai Guria is a gripping exploration of pivotal moments
in African history when resisting invading Western culture could mean death, set in
then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in 1896.

The other nominations for the Best Designer category were Joshua Gadsby for
Dreamplay at the Vaults, London; Simon Spencer for The Tempest at the Royal
Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon and Jessica Staton for Extra Yarn at the
Orange Tree Theatre, London.

Notting Hill’s The Gate Theatre is one of the best known and consistently critically
acclaimed theatres in the capital. The Convert has also been nominated for two Offie
Awards, which recognising the excellence, innovation and ingenuity of independent
theatres across London, in the categories for Best New Play and Best Supporting
Female in a Play.

“Supporting new talent is an essential component strengthening the entertainment
industry as a whole and looking to the future’ stated Dave. “Without innovation,
everything will stagnate and decay, so we need to keep progressing. As Robe is at the
forefront of lighting and LED technologies, we also want to help push technical and
creative boundaries that can make all types of performance more accessible, engaging
and interesting to a wider range of audience’ he concludes.