Lighting designer Sonoyo Nishikawa wins Siminovitch Prize

TORONTO — Lighting designer Sonoyo Nishikawa has won Canada’s largest theatre prize.

The Siminovitch Prize was announced at a ceremony in Toronto on Monday evening.

Jurors praised the Montreal-based Nishikawa for designs that “push the boundaries of what we expect lighting to do.”

Nishikawa has been a lighting designer since 1986, and began collaborating with director Robert Lepage in 1993.

Nishikawa takes home $75,000, while $25,000 will go to a protégé of her choice: Mayumi Ide-Bergeron, a Montreal-based multidisciplinary artist.

Finalists for the prize, who each receive $5,000, include Vancouver-based lighting designer Itai Erdal, Toronto sound designer Debashis Sinha and Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Workshop.

The Siminovitch Prize rotates on a three-year cycle, recognizing professionals in the alternating fields of theatre design, direction and playwriting.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2024.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press