Theatre Centre this week announced the winner of the Annual Brian Way Award together with those of its Adrienne Benham Award and Dorothy L Sayers Award.
On the evening of Thursday 14 November 2013, a crowd of over 150 writers and theatre professionals gathered at Rich Mix in Shoreditch to celebrated Theatre Centre’s 60th birthday and hear who has won this year’s awards.
The Brian Way Award
This award was established to promote the achievements of playwrights who write for young audiences. The prize money of £6,000 is intended to give the winner the time and space to develop a new play without the pressure of deadlines or a commissioning brief.
A judging panel consisting of poet Sabrina Mahfouz and playwrights Evan Placey, Bryony Lavery, Janice Okoh and Roy Williams OBE chose the winner from a shortlist of six writers: Naomi Cortes, Kevin Dyer, Philip Ridley, Nicky Singer, Danny Braverman and Rebecca Prichard.
Announcing Danny Braverman the winner for Wot? No Fish!!, Evan Placey said that “It impressed us with the way it tackled big themes and questions through a unique and personal story. The moving, funny, and heartfelt tale delighted and surprised. The writing and the storytelling were magic, and all too real.”
This a play for ages 12+ produced by bread&circuses. It tells the funny and moving story of how the playwright discovered the lost art of his great-uncle Ab, and is billed as “an extraordinary story about love, art, history… and catering.”
Natalie Wilson, Artistic Director, Theatre Centre declared, “This play changes the expectations of what Theatre for Young Audiences can be and the stories it can tell. It’s beautiful, poignant and funny, and I’m proud that we are able to recognise it with this award in the name of Theatre Centre’s founder, Brian Way.”
The Other Awards
The winners of Theatre Centre’s Adrienne Benham Award and Dorothy L Sayers Award were also announced at the event.
Emerging playwright Lou Ramsden won the £2,000 Adrienne Benham Award, which will support her exploration of the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) sector. Actors Matt Bradley-Robinson and Adrian Richards picked up the Dorothy L Sayers Award, which recognises the achievements of actors whose first professional job has been with Theatre Centre. They each received £500.
As part of its 60th birthday celebrations, Theatre Centre is touring Advice for the Young at Heart, a new play by Roy Williams. In addition, it has run special initiatives and events to enhance the profile of Theatre for Young Audiences. Its Write Lines conference in June brought together over 100 writers and theatre professionals to discuss the importance of new plays for young people.
By the end of the year, showcase performances in five regions will have given local policymakers, arts organisations, educators and press the opportunity to experience an outstanding professional production for young people and discuss the role of drama in secondary schools.
A 60th birthday microsite, accessible from Theatre Centre’s main web site, continues to collect stories from actors, creatives and staff who have worked with the company at any point over the last six decades.