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Emma Bailey

Headshot of Emma Bailey, a black and white image of a woman with very short platinum blonde hair

Emma is an award winning set and costume designer based in London. Having started her career in architecture she uses her spatial and draughting skills to explore her fascination with 3D and 2D design and performance. Her work comprises many elements of design including fashion, illustration and sculptural installation.

In 2011 Emma was awarded the prestigious Linbury Prize for Stage Design with her production Roy Orbison in Clingfilm at the Royal Opera House. Emma has also been a JMK finalist 3 times and once as runner-up in 2014 with director Kim Pearce. In 2020, she has been awarded the Maria Bjornson Fellowship Prize from the Royal College of Music.

​Emma has designed for a range of venues,  including Royal Opera House, Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Young Vic and Pyramid Stage Glastonbury. Emma designed the sets for 6 The Musical -  which is running in London's West End and is touring the globe to critical and audience acclaim and is on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.​

Recent productions include Little Wimmin for Bristol Old Vic, Pleasure Seekers for Soho Theatre and upcoming projects include A Very Expensive Poison for the Burg Theatre, Vienna and Oliver Cromwell is Really Very Sorry for Xnthony Productions in Ireland.

As well as designing Emma has run theatre workshops with the National Theatre, RSC, the Tricycle and Young Vic. Emma is also part of Store, a London-based association of artists, architects and designers, who promotes an educational programme of art and architecture courses, wide-ranging public events and exhibitions, and a socially engaged design practice. Their work can be found here www.storeprojects.org

Emma's work in dance includes designing for Company Chameleon and the McNicol Ballet Collective and in 2020/21 she designed for The Dan Daw Show at Sadler's Wells and Ionesco'sThe Bald Soprano - Die kahle Sangerin, for Ad Absurdum by choreographer Andrey Kaydanovskiy for the Ballett am Rhein Dusseldorf Duisberg in Germany. In 2023, she has been design consultant for a new production by Jaivant Patel Company.