Sydney-based stage designer Charles Davis has been named the recipient of this year’s Kristian Fredrikson Scholarship for Design in the Performing Arts.

Charles Davis. Photo suppliedThe scholarship grants Davis $12,000 to fund overseas travel and study costs. He plans to use the scholarship to attend Theatretreffen in Berlin, participate in workshops and creative laboratories hosted by the Theatretreffen International Forum, as well as undertake an observation attachment with a leading European designer.

Davis graduated from NIDA in 2014 and is a recipient of a 2021 Sydney Theatre Award for his stage design for Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, staged by Red Line Productions. His work is currently on display in the STC’s production No Pay, No Way! at the Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Theatre Company’s No Pay? No Way! Photo © Prudence Upton

Davis is also the set designer for The Australian Ballet’s upcoming Circle Electric, choreographed by Stephanie Lake. Paula Levis, one of two recipients of the 2022 Fredrikson Scholarship, is designing the costumes.

Davis has also designed for West Australian Opera (La boheme, 2023), Opera Queensland (La Traviata, 2022), Pinchgut Opera (Médée, 2022) and Sydney Chamber Opera (Breaking Glass, 2020).

The scholarship honours the legacy of performing arts designer Kristian Fredrikson, whose four-decade career spanned design for opera, ballet, contemporary dance and theatre. Established in 2008, it is awarded every two years to a professional Australian performing arts designer or maker.

More about the Kristian Fredrikson Scholarship can be found here.