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YOUR NEWS – Prize-winning Playwright

YOUR NEWS – Prize-winning Playwright

Image: Ezra England

Ezra England wins the 2021 Playwright’s Prize with Nuclear Children a dark comedy about mental health, a submarine accident and a melon


By KEVIN WILSON

The winner of the 2021 £5,000 Platform Presents Playwright’s Prize has been announced as Nuclear Children by 21-year-old British writer, Ezra England, following the decision of a strong council of celebrity and high-profile industry judges.
The prize includes £5,000 cash and ongoing mentoring from Platform Presents, who will produce the winning script for stage and screen.
734 plays were submitted from writers based from London to Mumbai, New York to LA to Melbourne. These were shortlisted to ten finalists by the Platform Presents co-founders and script readers.
Nuclear Children is a dark comedy about mental health, a submarine accident and a melon. Following the death of her father Isla is struggling to cope; plagued with intrusive thoughts and her deteriorating mental health, she runs away to university in the hope of staying sane. As Isla finally begins to find her feet, her world, quite literally, stops making sense.
Actress, Jenna Coleman, one of the prize’s judging panel, said: “‘The more I thought about everything the less I understood it.’ Nuclear Children. Never have I read confusion so eloquently described. Being inside the mind of Isla, is like being on a spin cycle as she processes her father’s death, sieves through what it means to grow up, mental health, life and loss. The wounds of grief are so palpable and yet also funny in their, at times, absurd mundaneness. She somehow brings humour, sense and poetry to that which does not make sense. Her perpetual confusion reflected in our own. A stunning and gifted writer who chimed straight into my heart with such a startling debut. I’m so looking forward to her exciting future.”
Platform Presents founders Gala Gordon and Isabella Macpherson, said: “At Platform Presents we are always looking for writers who can produce a visceral reaction within us – whether to make us laugh out loud or feel heavy of heart, catch our breath, be surprised or feel sorrow. Ezra England’s writing stood out for this reason, in an exceptionally competitive year.”
Another of the judges, actor, writer and director Aki Omoshaybi, said: “A play that humanises the absurdity of one’s thoughts during difficult times, making the viewer/reader feel that we’re all in this together, going through it together. And that we’re all just the same… which leaves you feeling deeply connected and content.”
Casting Director, Jessica Ronane, said: “I have been honoured to be part of the judging panel for the Platform Presents Playwright’s Prize not once but twice. The plays this year have been a joy to read. Spending time with the the work of new writers is a privilege and many of the characters have stayed with me. I am thrilled that the play that won was a unanimous decision. It affected us all and what happens next for this brilliant writer and their work will be riveting. Bravo to all who submitted and the extraordinary panel also to Isabella and Gala whose energy and commitment to the next generation of theatre writers is changing the future for them.”
The judges for the 2021 Prize were: Aki Omoshaybi (Actor, Writer, Director), Amy Gardner (Producer), Emma Forrest (Writer), Ella Road (Actor, Writer), Cynthia Wu (Producer), Gala Gordon (Co-Founder Platform Presents), Helena Lee (Writer), Isabella Macpherson (Co-Founder Platform Presents), Jessica Ronane (Casting Director), Jenna Coleman (Actor), Madani Younis (Chief Executive Producer, The Shed), Pearl Mackie (Actor), Pippa Bennett-Warner (Actor), Kristín Ólafsdóttir (Producer, Director) and Victor Jenkins (Casting Director).
Platform Presents was founded in 2017 by actress Gala Gordon and producer Isabella Macpherson to give a platform to rising star talent: actors, writers and directors, with a particular interest in female voices.
The annual Playwright’s Prize is funded by Platform Presents’ annual Poetry Gala, an evening of the world’s best-loved poems performed by stars of the stage and screen.
Rhys Ifans said about the Platform Presents Poetry Gala 2020. “Any kind of platform that gives an opportunity for new, young voices to be heard in an industry that can so often seem completely impenetrable is fantastic. And already we have seen Platform Presents have great successes in catapulting writers to where they should be and encouraged and nurtured.”

www.platformpresents.com
Twitter: @platformpres
Instagram: @platformpresents

YOUR NEWS – GP Receptionist Wins First-Ever National Poetry Competition on Key Workers

YOUR NEWS – GP Receptionist Wins First-Ever National Poetry Competition on Key Workers

By Anna Zanetti

Clean for Good, award-winning ethically conscious cleaning business, has announced the winners of Poetry for Good, the first-ever nationwide poetry competition celebrating the lives and careers of the UK’s key workers.
The first poetry competition ever run by a cleaning company, Poetry for Good received nearly 500 submissions from across the UK in less than ten weeks, with participants aged eleven years old and upwards. It attracted interest from established poets as well as first-timers, was adopted by schools as a project, and has produced poems celebrating nurses, teachers, shopkeepers, scaffolders, chaplains, cleaners and even undertakers, written by key workers themselves, their children, or by those inspired by key workers.
Taking home the Spoken Word award (for spoken poetry from those aged 16 or more) was The Front Desk by Gemma Barnett (London). An actress who found herself out of work in 2020, Gemma got a job working as a receptionist in a GP surgery. In her poem, she pays tribute to her “empathetic, gutsy, blunt, charming, and hilarious colleagues,” who powered through the whole pandemic no matter what – some fell ill and were in the ICU with Covid, whilst others had lost family members but still continued to show up to work.
The winner of the Written Word category (written poems from those aged 16 or more) was the poem Night Shift by Violet Smart (London), a poem inspired by a cleaner who worked at her university, but moved on to working in hospitals. The judges praised the poem for creating “a stunning visual and intimate painting of the NHS and life as a key worker through the use of the rich and sensory language,” and for its “dynamic integration of Spanish, which really adds both colour and life to the poem as well as playing homage to the vast Latinx community which holds up the NHS.”
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Dunford (Notts.) was Highly Commended in the same category for her poem Kate, inspired by the “energy, kindness and humour” of a carer working in the residential home of her 91-year-old father, and so was Always under the COSHH by Mark Cowan (Stockton on Tees), a teacher who also worked as a cleaner in his early twenties; Mark noted a cleaner’s work, “is most noticed when it isn’t completed. We take it for granted that the dirty floors that we left behind yesterday will shine and sparkle by the following morning.”
In the Growing Word category (written poems for those aged 11-15), Life Support, by Jacinta-Maria Ifeoluwapo Chidiebere Wajero (Liverpool) won the first prize, and was praised by the judges for the “careful thought and commitment to the metaphor of oxygen,” used as a symbol for the essential, exposed, often invisible role of a key member of society.
The ‘Top 100’ poems from the competition, including the winners, are being published online as a permanent celebration of the sacrifices made over the last year by millions of workers. This is a unique anthology of poems, heart-breaking, inspiring, and sometimes amusing, and a testament to the work of all those who have kept our nation safe, well and on the move over the past year.
Poetry for Good was judged by three internationally acclaimed poets: Cecilia Knapp, the new London Young People’s Laureate for 2021; Rachel Long, who has been shortlisted for the Costa Book Award, Forward Prize for Poetry and the Rathbones Folio Prize, and is the Founder of Octavia, the Poetry Collective for Women of Colour; and Katherine Lockton, Editor of South Bank Poetry and published poet with flipped eye publishing. All judging was undertaken with authors’ names removed and on artistic merit alone.
Katherine Lockton, one of the competition’s poets on the Judging Panel, said: ‘I was impressed by the sheer number of poems that were submitted and the quality of the entries. The standard was incredible and it was clear that people had invested a vast amount of energy and creativity in their submissions. It was also clear how much they appreciated and loved key workers. They celebrated everyone from cleaners to nurses and shop keepers. There was everything from free verse, rhymed poems to villanelles. It was clear that a lot of talented writers had submitted.”
Organised by Clean for Good, one of the UK’s most dynamic social-purpose companies, the competition is part of their wider mission to promote fair pay and dignity at work for cleaners – a category whose work has been severely impacted by Covid.
Tim Thorlby, MD of Clean for Good, said: “We have read every poem submitted and have been delighted – and heartbroken – by the public’s response to Poetry for Good. We want to thank everyone who participated and shared their thoughts with us. So many of these poems share personal and moving stories from the sharp end of life over the last year. If anyone was in any doubt that something needs to change for millions of low paid workers in the UK today, then this selection of stories surely settles that debate for good.”

Website: www.poetryforgood.org.uk
Twitter: @PoetryforGoodUK
Website: www.cleanforgood.co.uk
Twitter: @Clean4Good

 

YOUR NEWS – ALD Name-Change

YOUR NEWS – ALD Name-Change

Image: The executive committee of the newly-voted-for ALPD


By Jo Boyd

The organisation known as the Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) will represent its members with its new title, the Association for Lighting Production and Design (The ALPD).
Following the association’s Extraordinary General Meeting, held on 17 July 2021 – a year that also happens to commemorate the ALD’s sixty full years of pulling together as a collective of lighting professionals – the membership has voted in favour of a name change that demonstrates both the association’s breadth of membership and its appreciation of every lighting role in the design and production process.
Chair of the association, Johanna Town, explains the importance of this change of name: “While the ALD, which was founded 60 years ago for lighting designers, has for some time included production electricians, programmers, lighting managers, assistant electricians, associate designers, lighting educators and students, hire companies and manufacturers, we never acknowledged it in our name. It’s a real celebration of the association’s 60th year that our name now fully respects those we represent.
“Recent years have shown us the strength we can pull on as an association. Whilst Saving Stage Lighting or working to offer support to the whole lighting industry through the Covid-19 pandemic, we have played an integral role in mobilising everyone. We know we are stronger together as an association to support everyone in the lighting team and now we have a name that says that.”

YOUR NEWS – Curve Podcast

YOUR NEWS – Curve Podcast

By Paul Johnson

Leicester’s Curve theatre has released the latest episode of its ‘Curve in Conversation’ podcast, a look ahead at this autumn’s line-up of productions including interviews with multi-award winning master of mind control Derren Brown, actor Sharan Phull and director Anthony Almeida.
In this episode, Martin speaks with the winner of the 2019 Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST) Sir Peter Hall Director Award, Anthony Almeida, about the upcoming Made at Curve production of Tennessee Williams’ Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
Originally scheduled to run last year, Anthony discusses how he has continued to work on ideas with designer Rosanna Vize and how their plans are set to challenge preconceptions of the drama.
Derren Brown will visit Curve for the first time this autumn with performances of Showman (19 – 23 Oct). In the podcast, he also explains how events of the last 16 months have shaped the plans for his new tour.
Finally in this episode of Curve in Conversation, Martin speaks with Leicester-based actor Sharan Phull, who will visit the theatre (20 – 25 Sep) in the tour of smash-hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
Episodes are available to listen to and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud.
www.curveonline.co.uk

YOUR NEWS – Little LTF Success

YOUR NEWS – Little LTF Success

Image: Photo: David Munn Photography

Liverpool’s New Works Theatre Festival Little LTF Hailed A Success


Thirteen new works have been premiered at the inaugural Little LTF outdoor live theatre festival in Liverpool during a week-long event, which has been hailed a huge success by organisers.
A sister event and new strand to Liverpool Theatre Festival, which was first staged in September 2020, Little LTF was launched to champion and showcase new works and rising talent as lockdown restrictions are lifted.
The festival ran for seven days between 12 – 18 Jul within the walls at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church in the heart of Liverpool city centre – outdoors but undercover in a specially designed performance space. The event adhered to all required Covid-19 guidelines, including limited numbers and social distancing.
The success of Little LFT comes just seven weeks before the return of Liverpool Theatre Festival in September which features more mainstream and established acts, artists, and productions.
During the week of Little LTF, an impressive 1,200 festivalgoers experienced 15 performances by 13 companies – resulting in six sell-out shows.
Due to popular demand, extra performances were also added for ADHD The Musical – Can I Have Your Attention Please? by Dora Colquhoun and The Monkey With No Bum – The Musical by Asa Murphy.
Little LTF featured A Brief Conversation About The Inevitability Of Love by Ian Salmon; Twice Nightly by Michael Alan Bailey and Maria Lovelady; The Forgotten Forest by Becky Brooks; Trapped: 12×8 – and – String (double bill) by Oliver Back; This Skin of Mine by Kai Jolley; Paul Robeson’s Love Song: An Audiovisual Experience by Tayo Aluko; ADHD The Musical – Can I Have Your Attention Please? by Dora Colquhoun; Superstar by Carl Rice; Now! The Musical by Anne Taft and David Paul; Tea Time by Graham Edgington; Support Your Local Library – The Rock Opera by Keith Carter and Ruth Cockburn; The Monkey with No Bum – The Musical by Asa Murphy; and 12 – The Rainbow Monologues by Grin Theatre Company.
Liverpool Theatre Festival was created by Liverpool theatre producer Bill Elms, who stepped in to bring entertainment back to audiences after theatres across the country were ordered to close their doors as part of the first Coronavirus lockdown in March 2020.
Plans are well underway for the return of the main Liverpool Theatre Festival which runs from 1 – 12 Sep 2021 and includes 2Gorgeous4U by Mark Davies Markham; The Last Five Years; Everybody’s Talking About Musicals; Electric Dreams; Opera Beneath The Stars; Broken Biscuits; Laughterhouse Comedy; Something About George – The George Harrison Story. With more to come…

www.liverpooltheatrefestival.com
Facebook: liverpooltheatrefestival
Twitter: @lpoolTFestival
Instagram: liverpooltheatrefestival

YOUR NEWS (Youth, Student, Graduate) – Moving On

YOUR NEWS (Youth, Student, Graduate) – Moving On

Grace Towning Billy The Kid.  Photo: Stephen Candy


Ariel Company Theatre Students Gain Places at National Youth Music Theatre

By Bethany Gavin

Ariel Drama Academies’ students, Ed Hooper, Grace Towning and Flo Barton have gained places at the prestigious National Youth Music Theatre this summer.
From thousands of applicants and a rigorous audition process, Ed, Grace and Flo have been selected to showcase their theatrical talents at a National level. Ed and Flo attend Ariel’s Burgess Hill Academy, with Grace in attendance at our Crawley Academy. All students have been members of Ariel for several years and have paid credit to the ongoing training they receive at Ariel.
Ed Hooper and Grace Towning will perform Billy The Kid at The Other Palace, London, with Flo Barton travelling to Manchester for The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Ariel’s Burgess Hill Academy Principal, Marisha Gray says, “We are all so thrilled that our students have been selected to perform with NYMT this summer. They work so hard and are really deserving of this exciting opportunity, especially after such a difficult year for the arts.”
Abi Paige, Crawley Academy Principal says, “I’m immensely proud of our students. They all have bright futures ahead of them, and with Ariel behind them, we can’t wait to see what comes next.”
And the good news doesn’t stop there for Ariel, with another student, William Dunn, selected to perform Nightshade with British Youth Music Theatre in Plymouth.
“We have a long history with students performing with NYMT and BYMT, and the experiences they gain through these productions is mesmerising. It is very gratifying to know that the skills they learn at Ariel can be applied to further performance opportunities,” says Nicci Hopson, Artistic Director and Founder of Ariel Company Theatre.
Ariel Company Theatre has been busy programming its own activities throughout the summer holiday, with one-day workshops running from 2 – 6 Aug across multiple venues throughout Sussex.
From puppetry to stage combat, musical theatre, street dance, Harry Potter and industry professional guests from smash hits, Six, Cats, Wicked and We Will Rock You, they have something for everyone.

If you would like to register your interest and find out more, please visit www.arielct.com or call 01444 250407.

Ariel Drama Academies have venues in Burgess Hill, Crawley, East Grinstead, Hayward’s Heath, Horsham and Shoreham. If you’d like to enquire about a free trial: www.arielct.com/drama-academies

 

 

YOUR NEWS (Youth, Student, Graduate) – Guildhall Prizes

YOUR NEWS (Youth, Student, Graduate) – Guildhall Prizes

Guildhall School of Music & Drama announces end of year prizes – Acting and Production Arts Gold Medals and Hazel Sharples Memorial Prize


The winner of the Acting Gold Medal is Aoife Gaston who has just completed the BA (Hons) Acting programme. The award is given to the student who, in the opinion of the Acting staff, has most embraced the spirit and ethos of the training.
The Production Arts Gold Medal goes to Joshua Collins who has just completed the BA (Hons) Technical Theatre Arts (Theatre Technology). The award is given to the student who, in the opinion of the Production Arts staff, has consistently surpassed all expectations in whatever role they have undertaken, demonstrating exceptional interpersonal skills and making a significant contribution to the department.
Max Rodriguez-Thorp, who has just completed the BA (Hons) Technical Theatre Arts (Design Realisation) programme has been awarded The Hazel Sharples Memorial Prize. The prize was set up in 1999 in memory of Hazel Sharples, a stage manager and arts officer who passed away suddenly in 1995. During her career, Sharples worked for the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre, and was chair of Warehouse Theatre, Croydon.
Each year, her friends and former colleagues contribute towards an endowed prize fund which provides for an annual award to an outstanding Guildhall School third-year Productions Arts student, voted for by their peers.
Guildhall School of Music & Drama is provided by the City of London Corporation. Ranked as the top UK conservatoire in the Guardian music and drama league tables, it delivers world-class professional training in partnership with distinguished artists, companies and ensembles.

Website: www.gsmd.ac.uk

YOUR NEWS (Youth, Student, Graduate) – Wales goes to… Wales

YOUR NEWS (Youth, Student, Graduate) – Wales goes to… Wales

Image: Their Royal Highnesses watching MA actor Zoe Goriely perform a speech from Shakespeare.  Photo: Simon Gough Photography


Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama’s Extraordinary Year Ends with a Royal Visit from its President, The Prince of Wales

RWCMD has ended its academic year with a visit from its President, HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.
Their Royal Highnesses spent the morning meeting staff, students and graduates, and learned more about how the College has managed through the pandemic and is now investing and fundraising to support the launch of exciting new programmes, including a re-designed undergraduate Music degree, a BA in Musical Theatre and a Foundation course in Scenic Construction.
“We are honoured to welcome Their Royal Highnesses to the Royal Welsh College during their week in Wales and it feels very special indeed to have our President with us as part of our final week of term,” said RWCMD Principal Helena Gaunt.
“Of course it’s been a challenging year for our College community but we’ve been able to continue our training throughout, and still create and programme a wide range of excellent performances in these remarkable spaces that have served us and our audiences so well over the last ten years.
“We are looking forward with ambition now and it is wonderful that we have had the opportunity to brief His Royal Highness about future strategies that will ensure we emerge stronger from the experience of the last 18 months as we fundraise and invest to widen access to training, deepen connections to the industries and develop our impact.”

 

YOUR NEWS (Youth, Student, Graduate) – European Theatre Arts Programme Flourishing

YOUR NEWS (Youth, Student, Graduate) – European Theatre Arts Programme Flourishing

Over thirty students from Rose Bruford College on its world-renowned European Theatre Arts Programme are now successfully on placements in Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic and France.

Students were due to travel in January 2021, but the surge in coronavirus cases in the UK and Europe and ensuing lockdowns meant plans were delayed.
Other obstacles included extra costs for enhanced testing, due diligence around insurance regulations and navigating each partner country’s individual visa and covid security regulations and bureaucratic requirements.
Rose Bruford College has a very high percentage of students undertaking placement abroad or on its UK campus. In 2018 it was recognised as one of the top twenty-five performing universities for student mobility in the world. After a successful bid for two years’ Erasmus funding in 2020, which enabled it to continue funding and supporting the cross-border collaboration and learning, Rose Bruford College intends to continue to provide financial support for students across the College to undertake these kinds of placements by applying to the UK Government’s new Turing Scheme.
The training is built on three foundational principles: working as an ensemble, crossing borders (artistic, cultural and geographical), innovation, and aims to train performers, makers, and practitioners who are proactive, adaptable and rigorous who can sustain careers in the performing and creative industries.

Twitter: @rosebruford
Instagram: rosebruford
Facebook: rosebrufordcollege
YouTube: Rose Bruford College

YOUR NEWS (Youth, Student, Graduate) – A Decade of Innovation and Collaboration

YOUR NEWS (Youth, Student, Graduate) – A Decade of Innovation and Collaboration

RWCMD Fellow Kate Burton unveiled the bronze bust of her father, the great Welsh actor Richard Burton, opening the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama’s world-class facilities.


RWCMD Celebrates 10 years of its World-Class Performance Facilities

The award-winning new buildings included the acoustically outstanding Dora Stoutzker Concert Hall, the Richard Burton Theatre, the Carne Foyer and The Linbury Gallery.
The college launches a year of celebration with ten selected events over the course of the next year, showcasing all that it has achieved over the decade and signposting its ambition for the next ten years.
“The college believes passionately in our sense of artistic community and our world-class new buildings have enabled us to welcome students, artists and audiences of all ages from around the world, uniting them in a shared and fundamental belief in making work of the highest quality and in the value of the arts and artists,” said Principal Helena Gaunt.
“While celebrating our achievements over the last ten years we are also focused on looking forwards and enhancing the potential of future generations of diverse young artists who can become the change-makers and lead the power of the arts into the future.”
The ten events to celebrate the past decade are: The Flying Bedroom; Amser JazzTime; Celebrating the music of Errollyn Wallen; WNO Opera Gala; A Song for Us; Anthony & Kel Matsena; NEW ’22; Balance; Musical Theatre show; World Harp Congress.

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