User:TheLongTone/Koltai

Ralph Koltai CBE (born ) 31 July 1924 often known simply as Koltai is a British theatre designer.

Early life
Ralph Koltai was born in Berlin on 31 July 1924 the son of a Hungarian doctor. Of Jewish birth, her succeeded in emigrating to Britain in 1939. After two years working on a farm in Scotland, from which he was dismissed as an enemy alien, Koltai  joined the Royal Army Service Corps.Because he was a German speaker he was sent to Essen to report on the trial of the German armaments manufacturer Krupp.

He followed this with a year-long engagement as part of the British team at the Nuremberg trials.

Theatre career
After he was demobbed, he decided to go into the theatre, influenced by a girlfriend who was a ballerina at Sadler's Wells. Between 1948 and 1951 he studied theatre design at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and by 1950 while he was still at Central he designed his first professional opera set.

Through the Fifties, he specialised in opera and ballet design, working for with Ballet Rambert.

Awards

 * 1967 	London Drama Critics’ Award: Designer of the Year for As You Like It and Little Murders
 * 1975 	Gold Medal for Stage Design, Prague Quadriennale International Exhibition of Scenograph
 * 1978 	Society of West End Theatres’ Designer of the Year Award: Brand
 * 1979 	Golden Triga National Award, Prague Quadriennale International Exhibition of Scenography
 * 1981 	London Drama Critics’ Award: The Love Girl and The Innocent