Eloise Pennycott, a secondary school student from Southend, has won the tenth National Theatre nationwide playwriting competition for young people, New Views.
The 17-year-old Deaf BSL user will see her play Barrier(s) staged at the NT's Dorfman in July, directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson.
She says of it, “Barrier(s) is really a play that stemmed from what I have always wished I could see as a piece of theatre. Whilst it’s awesome and so exciting when I see D/deaf actors on stage, seeing Deaf culture is much rarer. It’s also still surprisingly rare to see a lesbian love story on stage, which is why I want to keep the characters’ relationship forefront, against everything in the background.”
Pennycott saw off competition from more than four hundred entries submitted by 99 secondary schools and colleges.
Eight plays which made the shortlist will have rehearsed readings. These are:
- Blue by Rae Webb
- Find My Body by Sanaa Pasha
- Heart of the Mind by Kayden Best
- Teapot Troubles by Loresa Leka
- You and ME by Maya Haugen-Hestnes
- Trolled by Poppy Williamson
- An Ocean of Decisions by Alycia Okonta
- Last Resort by Isaac Reuben
The New Views playwrighting competition is open to those aged 14 to 19. The 2022/2023 programme is now open.
Barrier(s) will be performed in a mix of British Sign Language and English on 6 and 7 July.