Two Joes win Genesis Prize for work with refugees

Published: 18 February 2018
Reporter: Sandra Giorgetti

Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, directors of Good Chance Theatre, winners of the 2018 Genesis Prize Credit: Sarah Lee

Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, directors of Good Chance Theatre, have won the 2018 Genesis Prize, the only prize to reward the mentoring of artistic talent.

Murphy and Robertson's play The Jungle, was seen recently in a Young Vic and the National Theatre co-production at the Young Vic.

The play originated in a specially built temporary theatre in the Calais refugee camp in which residents of the camp were able to tell their story. The Jungle has also been seen in Paris.

With the £25,000 Genesis Prize, Murphy and Robertson can continue their work with refugees in the UK and France.

John Studzinski, founder and chairman of the Genesis Foundation, said, “what Joe and Joe have achieved in Calais, then in London and now in Paris is inspirational. Wherever they’ve been, they have created a beacon of hope in a zone of crisis and misery. They’ve built structures enabling refugees to tell their stories, express their creativity and build a community.

"Their mentoring and transformative work with these refugees make them the ideal recipients of the Genesis Prize. Such work nurturing artistic talent is at the core of the Genesis Foundation’s activities and our trustees were unanimous in awarding the Prize to Joe and Joe.

"We look forward to watching them use the Prize to develop further spaces for people without access to artistic expression and pass on their message of hope, humanity and empathy.”

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