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Dateline: 19th March, 2008
Bromley Metamorphosis 08 Winners Two new writers will see their full-length works performed onstage at the Curchill Theatre in Bromley in June, after winning the new playwriting competition Metamorphosis 08. The plays of 34 year-old songwriter and musician Ben Hales of Lewisham and 30 year-old Ali Taylor, formerly of Greenwich, were chosen by a panel of five judges after an intensive workshop phase of the competition which saw six shortlisted writers develop their scripts with directors, dramaturgs and actors. The competition was devised to encourage new writing for the theatre in the four London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham. It is funded by a £77,000 grant from Arts Council England. Fifty entries were received, with six finalists shortlisted in February. The other finalists were Bexley's Angela Pressland, Chris Bennion of Leytonstone, Joseph Monk of Hither Green and Evan Placey of New Cross. The winning works were selected by playwright David Eldridge, literary associate Jack Bradley, literary agent Lisa Foster, Guardian columnist Lyn Gardner and writer Gabriel Gbadamosi. Hales' play (In Parenthesis) tells the story of three rock climbers who have fallen off a mountain and are suspended mid-air on their climbing ropes. The comedy explores how people cope with boredom when all other excitement in their lives has past. The Churchill Chief Executive, Derek Nicholls said, "The play was chosen because of the striking theatricality of its setting and the brilliantly clever and witty way in which the plot uses a climbing accident as the starting-point for an internal journey in the hearts and minds of its characters." Taylor of Finsbury Park, won with his entry Overspill. The play is an original story of three young men all set for a night out in Bromley when the demon of violence causes them to pursue very different agendas. Derek Nicholls said, "Overspill impressed the judges because of its energy, and the originality of its storytelling. The tale it tells of three young men and their relationship to their home town is both very funny, and poignantly thoughtful, with a surprising dramatic twist at its climax." Taylor has held an Avron Foundation Young Playwright's Apprenticeship and has had rehearsed readings of his plays at the Royal Court Upstairs and the Young Vic. He said, "I think it's crucial that playwrights are given an opportunity to see their works onstage. That is what is so special about this competition. You learn far more from seeing your work on stage with actors and an audience than anything else." Both writers will now benefit from further workshop treatment of their plays with the creative team. Rehearsals begin in May with chosen casts and directors. Each play will then receive two performances in a specially-constructed Studio Theatre space at The Churchill in the week of June 16, 2008. The playwrights will receive commission fees of £4,000 each.
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