The James Menzies-Kitchin Young Director Award has been won in its 20th year by Josh Roche who will be directing My Name Is Rachel Corrie at London's Young Vic.
Roche has numerous credits including as a reader and literary associate of Shakespeare’s Globe, Soho Theatre and for Sonia Friedman Productions. He is the founder of Fat Git Productions and has been assistant director on, amongst other works, Farinelli And The King at the Duke of York’s and Death Of A Salesman and Shakespeare Live! for the RSC.
Roche said, “I’m stunned and delighted to win the JMK award. It’s hard to express quite what it means to me.
"The chance to direct at the Young Vic is extraordinary in any context, but to be working on this play makes the opportunity even more remarkable. My Name Is Rachel Corrie is about the irrepressible political voice of Rachel Corrie, an American activist who was killed in Gaza in 2003. Directing this play as Trump overturns decades of work towards a settlement in Palestine is galling, but proves this is a story worth telling.
"Rachel Corrie and I were born only ten years apart. Her legacy is our inheritance. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to tell her story on the Young Vic stage, and hugely indebted to the JMK Trust.”
This year's runner-up is Nathan Crossan-Smith with a proposal for a production of Debbie Tucker-Green’s random; he will receive a prize of £2,000.
The JMK Trust was founded in the memory of James Menzies-Kitchin, a young director of great promise who died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 28.
The Trust also runs a Regional Directors Programme which provides year-round training, mentoring and support for directors of all ages.