Derby writer Tim Elgood has won Long Play 2014, a playwriting competition for East Midlands writers organised by rural touring theatre company New Perspectives.
His play Unforgettable is about the unique relationship of a brother and sister as they face life’s major challenges together. Moving in and out of different time frames, the play explores memory, change and loss.
Tim Elgood said, “As a writer it's a rare experience to receive a series of 'phone messages from an artistic director asking one to make contact—the boot is usually on the other foot.
“Receiving the news I had won the Long Play competition is a moment I will long remember—which is pretty appropriate given the subject matter of the play (memory). Big thanks to New Perspectives and all concerned with the judging.”
New Perspectives artistic director Jack McNamara commented, “When I read Unforgettable I could immediately see it on the stages we tour to.
“It’s beautifully written, funny, extremely moving and, like all important work, a great challenge to direct.
“I always look for plays with a strong identity that also offer directors, actors and creatives seemingly infinite possibilities for staging.”
Tim Elgood’s first play, A Stone’s Throw from Edward, won the Granada Foundation Award. He has written extensively for youth and community theatre groups at Derby Playhouse and has also had several plays performed at various venues across the East Midlands, including The Pros, The Cons and A Screw at Derby Theatre and Mother Came Too at Derby’s Guildhall.
New Perspectives will develop Unforgettable with the aim of touring it in spring 2015.
The two runners-up are Ollie Smith’s The Man Upstairs and Blue Moon by Mufaro Makubika, both Nottingham-based writers.
Jack McNamara added, “We received a lot of submissions and read some extremely original, high-quality work. It’s heartening to know that there are so many distinctive voices writing plays in the region.”
Rehearsed readings of all three plays will be held as part of neat14, a nine-day festival celebrating the best theatre and art from across Europe and Nottingham, on Tuesday, 27 May in the Neville Studio at Nottingham Playhouse.
The Man Upstairs and Blue Moon will be read at 4PM and Unforgettable at 7PM. To book free tickets, contact Nottingham Playhouse’s box office on 0115 941 9419 or visit the Playhouse’s web site.