WGGB Theatre Encouragement Awards 2008
In 2005, the Theatre Committee of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain chose to initiate awards for the encouragement of new writing. Members were asked to nominate anyone in any capacity who had given them an exceptional experience in new writing during the previous year.
We are pleased to announce the winners of our fourth annual awards, pictured (below) at the Awards lunch in September.
Joe Devlin, artistic director, Focus Theatre, Dublin
Nominated by Brian McAvera:
"Joe was determined that a production of Picasso’s Women was going to go on in Ireland, and, to convince me, held readings of all eight plays with eight of his actresses, allowing me to choose and stating that if I couldn’t find a cast from his actresses, we would go to England. We did however and he produced three of the plays, further touring one of them and planning to bring another two to London. He also commissioned my new play on Francis Bacon which, again, we hope to launch in London later this year. And just to put the icing on the cake, he put me forward to Pantekin, a theatre in Venice, to do an English version of an Italian classic play. So at long last I have a champion in Ireland who believes in my work and is determined to promote it!"
Elske van Holk, director of STET Promotions, the English language theatre for The Hague
Nominated by Cheryl White:
"I was apprehensive about moving to a new country to try and begin my career, but I was lucky. From the beginning, when I approached Elske to develop my final play for my MA, she supported my ambitions and arranged for a director to come on board and worked tirelessly to secure three public readings in December. From that, and owing to her enthusiasm and generosity, Elske has now raised the funds to put on my first full-length play for a run in a professional theatre. A new play, a new writer, and new country. With her unfailing humour and knowledge of the local scene, she has opened up opportunities I would probably have had to work for years to get in London."
Lakeside Theatre, Nottingham (Matt Aston, Theatre Programmer/ Producer)
Nominated by Stephen Lowe:
"For a run of my play SMILE, against all odds, all the actors, crew, and myself were paid union rates and there was a wonderful sense of a whole theatre -- publicity, box-office, café staff, et al – all pulling together, and pooling all their resources with one common aspiration – the search for excellence. In over thirty five years as a playwright, I have come across very few theatres with such a warm and committed spirit, and a great deal of that is enabled by Matt’s leadership of the team."
Annette Mees
Nominated by Roland Moore:
“Annette wasn’t only the director of the Seven Deadly Sins project, she also acted as springboard for our initial ideas; she acted as a mediator when things got heated in the writing meetings (we were 7 very different writers, from 7 different countries with different worldviews, religions and politics. And all the while, she never steered us in a particular direction. They were ‘our’ plays."
Also nominated by Paula Stanic:
"Annette was completely open to working in whatever way I felt most comfortable, whether this meant getting some actors together and improvising, spending time brainstorming with her or my just coming up with an idea and writing it, inspired by our discussions and with loads of support in the form of instant feedback. Though time was limited it never felt like it. All together she just makes it easy for you to get on and write.’.
The Menagerie Theatre, Cambridge (Paul Bourne, Patrick Morris & Holly Race)
Nominated by Danusia Iwaszko:
"This enterprising, dynamic theatre encourages new writers in the region and makes a significant contribution to new writing in the country. I wrote a short piece for their Rough Diamonds festival and my experience was so positive and constructive. Paul Bourne, artistic director, worked with me on the re-writes to create a wonderful final piece. His insights on the writing and positive feedback were crucial. It was then brilliantly cast and wonderfully directed. The writer was included as much or as little as he or she wanted to be and I left fired up and ready to write."
Oldham Coliseum Theatre (Kevin Shaw, Natalie Brown, Michelle Temperley and Jodie Lamb)
Nominated by Ian Kershaw:
‘I had total freedom to write what I wanted. My play Union Street examined the fall of civic pride and the rise of nationalism in Oldham – tricky subjects that could have caused friction between a writer dropping in to write a play and an artistic director who lives and works in that town year after year, but Kevin Shaw never questioned the delicate ground I wanted to stamp over. It would be absolutely fantastic for the Oldham Coliseum to receive the recognition it deserves and to encourage them and the building to continue to encourage and support new writing and new writers.
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