Writers' Guild of Great Britain presented its annual awards for new writing encouragement, The Olwen Wymark Awards, at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 4 December 2015.
Set up by playwright Mark Ravenhill in tribute to former WGGB Theatre Committee chair Olwen Wymark, who died in 2013, the awards give WGGB members the opportunity to pay tribute to those who have given them a positive experience in new writing over the previous year.
The 11th annual awards have been presented to Jarek Adams, founder of Gloucester Scriptorium, Joe Sumsion, Artistic Director of The Dukes Theatre in Lancaster, Mared Swain and Kate Wasserberg, Director and Artistic Director of The Other Room pub theatre in Cardiff, and Polly Thomas, radio drama producer.
Adams was nominated for her work with Gloucester Scriptorium by Andrew Thorn, who said, "Jarek created the project partly due to frustration she felt after taking part in other schemes which claimed to provide ongoing development for writers but didn't live up to their promises or even provide useful feedback.
"Many of the writers involved have expressed joy and astonishment at the sheer amount of constructive help, support and follow-up she has given them."
Debbie Oates nominated Sumsion for setting up The Dukes as a centre of encouragement for writers, saying, "this has not been done simply as a development exercise, but has translated into fully realised commissions and productions. Writers are valued, encouraged, developed, supported and, ultimately, produced, and this is down to the drive and vision of Joe.
"The Dukes is now upping its commitment to new plays further, creating a Writers Hub, developing work and making links with the local university to connect with up-and-coming young writers. The company is attracting new partners to support the work; at a time of real financial pressures, new writing is becoming a growth area for the theatre."
Alun Saunders nominated Swain and Wasserberg for the support they showed for his first full-length play, A Good Clean Heart. He said, "Mared Swain was the person who, sensitively and creatively, encouraged / pushed / shoved me to question my play, and allowed me to draw out the very best play I could write—all of which within an incredibly short time frame.
"Kate Wasserberg took a chance on an up-and-coming writer with an as-yet-unfinished play. Kate's dramaturgical skill encouraged me to write a play in two languages. Her vision for her new pub theatre, The Other Room, is highly ambitious, and including my work in their inaugural season alongside Sarah Kane and Howard Barker was an unbelievable honour."
Polly Thomas was nominated by Dan Rebellato for her support of his Radio 4 Zola adaptation and other writing projects. He said, "Working with Polly Thomas has been one of the great collaborations of my life and has taught me so much about writing, radio and the possibilities of story and sound.
"Over the last year, while I’ve worked on a very large-scale, high-pressure project, adapting 20 Zola novels for Radio 4, she’s been a model of support and tact, offering both a sounding board and clear-sighted creative input.
"She asks stimulating and important questions about gender and representation that always open up possibilities and never close them down. She’s endlessly good-humoured, kind and clear with her writers, keeping the space between us creative at all times. She makes radio drama as creatively exciting as it can possibly be."