Theatre luminary Bunny Christie OBE inspired the next generation of performing arts graduates with a powerful message about choosing “the passion path” as she was presented with an honorary doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Christie is the multi-award-winning set and costume designer whose creative vision has transformed the world’s most celebrated theatre productions, from London’s West End to Broadway.

Born and raised in St Andrews, she joined graduating students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow on Thursday 3 July, where she was recognised for her services to production arts.

Addressing the students, Christie, said: “You are all artists, you are taking a demanding route, you are choosing to make a living from your imagination, your skills, your dreams and ideas. You chose a brave path, the passion path.

“Now, in the next few years, don’t rush and don’t panic – things will happen, be patient, work hard, have fun. Interesting things happen when the creative impulse is set free, to dream stuff up, to make an imaginary world that didn’t exist before you thought it up. We are all the lucky ones to have had a taste of that work. Making and building our ideas.”

With two Tony Awards and four Olivier Awards under her belt, Christie made history as the first woman to win the Olivier Award for Best Design and was also the first woman to receive the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Designer.

She has a long relationship with the National Theatre, designing in all its theatre spaces and devising shows at the NT Studio. Her work at the NT covers production and costume design for many of the classics and new plays.

One of her most celebrated designs, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, premiered at the National Theatre before transferring to the West End and Broadway, winning widespread acclaim, and completing UK, US and East Asian tours.

She also devised a small-scale touring version of Curious Incident, giving many students their first experience of live theatre and supporting the teaching of drama in schools.

Images: Martin Shields Photography