In June, the BTG reported on the Venues North Edinburgh Fringe Awards 2019, an award of £3,500 prize and a tailored package of support in kind provided by Venue North members based throughout the North of England. Now a shortlist of five shows has been announced.
The five shows are:
- Slime, a children’s show by Herd Theatre from Hull
- Beach Body Ready, by The Roaring Girls from Hull
- Unfortunate: the untold story of Ursula the Sea Witch by Fat Rascal Theatre
- First Time by Nathaniel Hall presented by Dibby Theatre (Manchester)
- Standard Elite by Hidden Track
22 venues across the region—all part of the Venues North network—are supporting this inaugural award. Their programmers will watch each show in Edinburgh before voting. Organisations involved include HOME, Hull Truck Theatre, Oldham Coliseum, Royal Exchange, Sheffield Theatres, Stephen Joseph Theatre, The Lowry, Waterside Arts, Sale and York Theatre Royal.
Venues North Chair Annabel Turpin, Chief Executive & Artistic Director of ARC Stockton, said, “one of our core purposes is to raise the profile of new theatre and performance work made in the North of England. The shortlisted shows highlight the diverse, exciting and exceptional quality of work created and produced by artists in the North.
“The award creates a new platform for artists and companies. As a group of like-minded venues, we are committing to provide the winner with the support to help to take their work to wider audiences."