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      Interview: C’mon Kids, Get Writing

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      Helen Monks and Matt Woodhead from Lung Theatre on their latest project, Unmute

      We’ve had Matt Woodhead from Lung Theatre on our podcast way back in Episode 7, when he was telling us all about the Who Cares play and campaign that emerged from it. This time around he came along with his colleague from Lung, Helen Monks.

      Not ones to sit back and take it easy, Lung are now in the midst of seeking out young writers for Unmute, a writing competition for 11 – 18 year olds. It’s a chance to write a monolgue of up to 500 words, with winning entries getting the chance to be performed live on stage as well as being published.

      Helen and Matt tell us all about how to enter the competition, how they gope to hear from voices all around the country, and just what they feel might make a great submission.

      Helen also briefly mentions The Trojan Horse Affair podcast, which looked at what really happened in Birmingham when it was alleged Islamic extremists were infiltrating the city’s schools. The podcast can be found here.

      The closing date for entries is 8 May. You can also find lots of support on how to write and submit your entries on their website here and their Twitter account here.

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      Interview: Adding An Asian Touch to the Plastic Debate

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      Akademi’s Suba Subramaniam on Plastic Drastic Fantastic

      Plastic Drastic Fantastic is a brand new dance piece coming to the Polka Theatre this spring. It’s been created by South Asian company Akademi, in conjunction with the Polka’s PolkaLAB artistic development programme, and explores human relationships with plastic. We wanted to find out a bit more about it, so we asked Artistic Director Suba Subramaniam to fill us in. 

      Hi Suba. This sounds like an extraordinary combination of themes – exploring our interactions with plastic through South Asian dance. How did the idea come about? 

      Interestingly, I initially conceived Plastic Drastic Fantastic as a Polka Creative Lab artist and the initial R&D took place as part of The Place’s Choreodrome annual research residency.

      I have worked with arts and climate change projects for nearly two decades alongside my career as a dance artist and science teacher. All my experience has led to this project: plastics is an urgent, relevant subject capturing the imagination of young people in terms of activism. I think dance can play an important role in helping young audiences engage with important subjects.

      Tell us a bit about the dance styles you incorporate, and which countries they represent. 

      There are two South Asian dance forms in the choreography; Kathak and Bharatanatyam. Both classical dance forms originated in the Indian sub-continent. I have used the form of Bharatanatyam at the movement core with contemporary interpretation to create a bold aesthetic. This dance form lends itself perfectly for a communicable narrative with gestures to integrate simple elements of BSL for a D/ Deaf audience.

      We use plastic for so many things in our everyday lives, but the issue of plastic pollution is a global one: are you focussing on it from a South Asian perspective?  How did you research the content of the show? 

      Plastic Drastic Fantastic is a dance show exploring our cultural relationship with plastics – covering their harmful impact on the environment whilst also exploring what makes plastic so versatile, useful and ubiquitous. The show will be highly visual, drawing on some of the most familiar images of plastics in use and abuse, from plastic bottles to plastic bags. It will be relevant, fun, engaging and thought provoking to a young audience of any background or ability. This work will explore the beauty of plastics as a material, how they behave, their properties and also what happens when we misuse them.

      We have also been speaking to Professor Mark Miodownik and Dr Zoe Laughlin from UCL (University College London) about some of the current issues around plastics. Their valuable knowledge has shaped the way we communicate about plastic in the show. 

      How does dance help to interpret the issues? Can plastic be fun?

      Of course plastics can be fun! Using the medium of South Asian dance, intricate movements and play, Plastic Drastic Fantastic draws on stories and ideas from young people to disentangle the fantastic possibilities that plastics offer us.

      What age group is the production aimed at? Is it only for children, or a wider audience?

      The production is suitable for ages 7+ years and their families. It is designed and created with children at the heart of the process. We hope the work will create lots of interesting discussions within families and friends and instil a curiosity to find out more about our world of plastics. It is our passion through arts and science to engage and empower young people to believe that their voices and opinions are valued.

      So, you also have some workshops lined up – is that right?

      Yes, that’s right. We have family workshops in March at Polka that will combine science, art and dance. These workshops will explore our relationship with plastics, by exploring their properties and what makes them so unique through dance and art.

      Have you had fun working with the Polka Theatre? And is the show going to be seen anywhere else? 

      Polka Theatre has been such a delightful partner organisation to work with, they have a wonderful new theatre space that is perfect for young audiences to feel welcome and parents to feel safe. It is a joy to be making and showing Plastic Drastic Fantastic in a theatre dedicated to young audiences and their families and to engage with their communities and audiences. 

      Thanks to Suba for taking the time out of her busy schedule to chat with us.  

      Plastic Drastic Fantastic dances into the Polka Theatre from 6 April to 8 May. Further information and bookings here. More

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      Interview: It’s Chekhov, But Not Quite As You Know It!

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      Knuckle Down on reworking Chekhov’s Three Sisters for the modern world.

      As you may imagine, we receive a lot of emails with show invitations here at ET! So admittedly, some days we trawl through those invitations and press releases with only half an eye on them, and it can take something different to jump out and grab our attention. That is just what happened when we came across Knuckle Down’s press release for Three Sisters, with its clever use of simple crossing out to make it stand out from so many others we’d already seen that day.

      A modern man-free adaptation of the Chekhov classic.In a room tiny back garden in a house outside a terraced house in a provincial town Wigan, three sisters wait for their lives to begin.Olga, the eldest lonely workaholic. Masha, the middle child depressed womaniser. Irina, the youngest ukulele-playing dreamer.

      We were certainly interested enough to suggest they tell us a little more about the show. So we sat down with Chloe and Matt of Knuckle Down to find out more.

      So, what made you decide to tackle Chekhov?

      We’ve always loved a bit of Chekhov. Especially the dark comedy that runs through many of his plays. The relationships between his characters are often complex to say the least and we were interested in exploring the relationships between the sisters especially.

      But it’s Chekhov with a rather interesting twist, bringing the story to Wigan and ‘man-free’ – how easy was it to adapt the story this way?

      We initially focused on these three sisters but also the three sisters from Shakespeare’s King Lear. We were interested to find out more about their stories as they’re so side-lined in the original texts. Even as the eponymous characters of Chekhov’s play, it’s crazy how many men dominate so many scenes with their chatter! We got rid of them all in our version and renamed them Alan!

      We spent time improvising and devising scenes around ideas from the original and then went away and adapted it so it follows the original action of Chekhov’s Three Sisters.  Setting it in modern day Wigan enabled us to swap Moscow for Manchester, and basing it in lockdown allowed us to keep the real sense that the sisters are truly trapped.

      And you’re promising “TikTok dance routines”: for those who aren’t too familiar with the original Chekhov, can you confirm that he never devised scenes for TikTok?

      Yes! TikTok dance routines do make an appearance at points throughout the play and we can confirm that as far as we’re aware Chekhov never ventured into the realm of TikTok.

      But more seriously, do you think modernising stories in this way is a gateway to bringing old classics to a whole new audience?

      Definitely!  We’re all about declassing the classics and making an intimidating canon more accessible to people who aren’t steeped in theatre knowledge. We hope everyone will still get all the best bits of Chekhov’s original but with the clarity of an ultra-modern and suitably irreverent lens.

      There is a ukulele-playing sister in the play, are we really going to be treated to some songs then?

      There’s a ukulele death ballad you’ll be treated to!

      Who do you feel this reworking of an old classic will appeal to? Who should be coming to see the show?

      Everyone, we hope. Both Chekhov fans and those who don’t know his work alike! It’s about being stuck in life, feeling trapped by circumstance and struggling to reconcile everything that’s brought you to that point, which I think we can all identify with after the past couple of years. It’s about growing up, but not too quickly and also, inevitably, about what it means to be a woman, a sister and part of a family.

      And is there anything else you are throwing into your version that we should be looking out for?

      There’s a bit of metatextuality thrown in for good measure!

      Finally, you’ve got runs at both The Maltings Theatre and Canal Café Theatre, is this just the start? Are there other plans afoot?

      We don’t have any plans beyond these two runs as yet, but we shall see!  For now we’re chuffed to have a couple of runs coming up and are looking forward to sharing our adaptation with audiences!

      Thanks to Knuckle Down for their time to chat about Three Sisters. They will be playing at Maltings Theatre St Albans 22 – 26 March and Canal Cafe Theatre London 31 March -2 April. More

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      Interview: Leading Us Up The Spiral Path

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      Playwright Andrew Sharpe on his new play, The Spiral Path

      For our latest podcast interview, we caught up with Andrew Sharpe, whose latest play, The Spiral Path, is days away from opening at The White Bear Theatre. But this won’t be its stage debut, that was at The Maltings Theatre earlier this year when it was well received. Enough so that it was picked up to come to one of London’s great Fringe Theatre venues.

      As well as telling us about the play, Andrew discusses the writing process, which for The Spiral Path, was evolving it from two short playlets into a full length play. He also tells us about being a more mature entrant into writing, having previously been a lawyer, and how joyful it is to see your play on the stage, having handed the script to a director and then being very hands-off.

      The Spiral Path

      Five characters, bereaved, betrayed, and befuddled by random acts of cruelty. Five interwoven tragedies cut together, a deeply personal examination of life, love and loss.

      Off the back of a very well received run at The Maltings Theatre, St Albans; KatAlyst & Mad Stallion Productions are delighted to bring this thought-provoking piece of new writing to a London audience at The White Bear Theatre.

      Inspired by the tragic number of cyclists killed in London every year, The Spiral Path weaves a suite of hilariously dysfunctional narratives, a family in chaos, a best friend betrayed, against a backdrop of deep and lasting grief of a bereavement, and the brutal repression of sexual identity.

      The Spiral Path comes to The White Bear Theatre between 22 and 26 March. Further information and bookings via the below link. More

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      Interview: A Simple Question? Or Maybe Not So Simple?

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      Who You Are and What You Do, Bread and Roses. 22 March – 2 April

      It’s easy to miss the Bread and Roses Theatre if you aren’t looking for it, tucked away as it is off the busier roads around Clapham. But for anyone who has had the pleasure of going, it is an absolute treat. This pub theatre is another amazing place to find fresh new work, brilliant new ideas and quite possibly the stars of the future. So we are always more than pleased to find time to catch up with them and find out what they are up to next.

      And right now, what they are up to is getting ready to bring us Who Are you and What You Do, a play that asks ‘are we defined by our actions, or the lessons we learn from them?’ Presented as a tableaux of interweaving stories about the social pressure to be happy all of the time, each night sees the play run in a different order.

      We caught up with the play’s writer, Hugh Dichmont (HD), director Tom Ward (TW) and producer from the in-house team at Bread and Roses, Natalie Chan (NC) to find out more.

      So what can you tell us about the play?

      NC: Who You Are and What You Do presents a tableaux of interweaving stories about the social pressure to be happy all of the time. There are stories about love, family relationships, the jobs that we do and the joys and pressures it gives us, conflict, resolving conflict, and how those different elements of our life insect.

      The play is made up of interweaving stories, which are played in a different order each night – doesn’t that risk affecting the flow of the whole evening?

      HD: For sure the actors have a challenge on their hands! But I love writing plays that do that… and the performers seem to love it too. Even without knowing about the switching order, I think our audience will see a stage of actors pushing themselves, excited to be discovering the play scene by scene. Hopefully it will be magic. They’re doing an incredible job. They will bring the flow, with their energy.

      We hope different audiences from different nights will take away different things, that all encourages reflection, empathy, and cohesion. 

      And how will you be deciding the running order each evening?

      TW: We have a system randomising it but still keeping it in order and one that the team can work with, come and join us for the show to find out more!

      The play is about that pressure to always be seen as happy; is social media going to play a big part in some of the stories?

      HD: This is a good question, come and see the show to find out!

      The play very much talks of the different versions of self we present, consciously or otherwise, depending on situations. Twitter or Facebook aren’t named, but this absolutely can be interpreted as an interpretation of online discourse. A play about 21st century happiness… what would it be without exploring technology?! This isn’t limited to The Internet, though. Social media, to some extent, is just a magnifier of what humans have been doing since the dawn of time. Let’s just say the script presents a near-future take on present day problems.

      The play was the winner of Bread and Roses Theatre’s 2019 Playwright Award, what was it that made it stand out?

      NC: As far as we know, we’ve never seen a script where scenes are written in a way like this one, where we can run the scenes in a different order and it presents a different, but equally brilliant experience for the audiences. We thought this was incredibly clever and fun, hence it stood out to us.

      Also the play was so different to the other winning plays and those from the previous playwriting awards.

      Do you feel the play answers any questions about our search for continuous happiness, or is it a case of holding the mirror up to our lives and making us think deeper about it?

      HD: The play definitely doesn’t offer solutions. It’s a piece full of characters who are simultaneously likeable and unlikeable; victims and complicit, a range of ages and backgrounds, from different walks of life. As ever with theatre, it is the grey stuff that powers the action- the messiness of being alive, relating to others, and coming to terms with your place in the world.

      And what is it that makes you happy?

      NC: For me, it’s the ability to find positives in most of the things we do that makes me happy. For example even if something (work or life) isn’t going so well, I remind myself what I’ve learnt from it. Of course – good theatre and making good theatre is definitely one.

      HD: It’s a cliche, but the pandemic has changed everything- In the last year I became a parent for the first time, then my own dad died. I wouldn’t say these events have changed my perspective on things… more that every day I’m a bit sadder and a bit happier than I was 12 months ago. Seeing my play on, after a two-and-a-half year wait, is definitely powering me through grey days!

      Thanks to Hugh, Tom and Natalie for their time to chat with us.

      Who Are You and What You Do plays at the Bread and Roses Theatre from 22 March to 2 April. Further information and bookings via the below link. More

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      Interview: Tackling Social Anxieties with Game Theatre

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      Cherwell Theatre Company guide us through Sam & Zoe Vs Evermore

      When Cherwell Theatre Company got in touch about their latest show, Sam & Zoe Vs Evermore, it piqued our interest for a couple of reasons. Firstly, for what looked a rather interesting style of theatre, and secondly, as it appeared to be targeted at an age group that’s all too often overlooked in theatre.

      We had planned to sit down with them this week to chat about the show, but unfortunately they couldn’t quite fit the time in. However, they were good enough to provide their own little interview, where they tell us everything we could possibly hope to know.

      Tell us a bit about Cherwell Theatre Company

      Tristan Jackson-Pate (Writer/Director): I’ve been lucky to be Artistic Director for Cherwell Theatre Company (or CTC as we’re usually known) since 2015, but we were established back in 2004 as a creative home for young people in North Oxfordshire. Essentially, we create a safe environment where young people can be themselves, make new friends and make theatre in collaboration with professional artists. Over the years we’ve made shows in a range of quirky site-specific venues from a decommissioned nuclear bunker to a castle: we even have plans to create a show in an open air swimming pool in 2022! Our patron is Sir Trevor Nunn, one of the many professionals who support us in the belief that CTC creates access for all, regardless of background.

      And for this production you’ve partnered with Butterfingers?

      Tristan Jackson-Pate: Yes, we’ve initiated a new game theatre collective, Butterfingers, with my co-writers and actors Jess Lloyd-Jones and Krage Brown.

      Krage Brown (Actor/Writer): Having worked together previously and getting along so well the three of us really wanted to work on something new and fun together and thus Butterfingers was born! Sam & Zoe is the first show we’ve co-written and one we’re all incredibly proud of.

      Jess Lloyd-Jones (Actor/Writer): We came up with the name Butterfingers because we wanted our theatre to represent the idea that life can be beautifully messy and no one is perfect.

      Photo credit @ Rosy Addison
      Your show Sam & Zoe Vs Evermore opens in Cheltenham on 17 March, and tours through to 30 April. What’s it all about?

      Jess Lloyd-Jones: In our play Sam is depressed. His partner Zoe can’t reach him, so in a last-ditch attempt to ‘save’ him, she designs a game for them to play with the help of a willing audience.

      Krage Brown: The show is sort of like a theatrical game of ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ and incorporates interactive storytelling, physical theatre battles and puppetry.

      So what sparked the idea for Sam & Zoe?

      Tristan Jackson-Pate: The show was inspired by some of the young men we work with in CTC’s youth theatre, who are passionate about DnD but experience social anxiety. They have helped to develop the idea, through an Arts Council funded research and development process, which took place in March 2020, just before the lockdown commenced. Over a couple of weeks, we brought together young people from CTC and students at Banbury College with Pegasus Theatre, a professional creative team and a representative from CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). They joined up with an award-winning game theatre dramaturg, who developed approaches to give our audiences agency with us, allowing them to influence the outcome of the story. 

      Krage Brown: We are avid gamers – video and physical – so getting the opportunity to develop a story set partly within a fantasy world is something we were very keen to dive into! Mixing the two worlds of theatre and gaming just sounded like it’d be fun for anyone and everyone!

      Jess Lloyd-Jones: Whenever I play fantasy games I always notice how the character I have created becomes really confident. During our R&D it was so wonderfully interesting seeing the young people become these proud and unapologetic characters also. I think sometimes it can be very challenging – especially as a young person – to always be open, and creating these characters can sometimes really encourage them to talk more openly. I think that concept really drove the further development of the show.

      What is game theatre?

      Krage Brown: Pretty much what you’d expect: merging physical or mental games within a stage show. A win-win combination!

      Jess Lloyd-Jones: I’d say it’s about agency and participation: that point when the audience stops being a viewer and becomes a player. The audience can decide whether to become a Mage, Rogue or Barbarian and during the show will play interactive games alongside Sam & Zoe.

      Tristan Jackson-Pate: Some of these are twists on well known ‘playground games’ like Grandmother’s footsteps, while others require the casting of spells, or solving Tolkein-esque riddles!

      Tell us about the characters, Sam & Zoe.

      Krage Brown: Sam is a fun, creative guy. He enjoys writing and drawing comics set within fantasy worlds inhabited by elves and orcs. Lately he’s been really struggling with his mental health and the ability to talk about it with others.

      Jess Lloyd-Jones: I would describe Zoe as a very lively, excitable and (slightly) controlling character, though she means well! The couple have been together for some time and she’s noticed Sam isn’t acting himself anymore and so immediately wants to ‘fix’ the problem by immersing him in the world he originally created. She also feels very comfortable playing an elf in the show. She believes she was one in a past life…

      What kind of an experience can the audience expect to have?

      Tristan Jackson-Pate: We keep the audience very involved throughout, but never in a pressured way – it’s absolutely not about making anyone feel uncomfortable. The audience form a party of DnD adventurers alongside Sam & Zoe, so they might play supporting roles, help create practical effects and make suggestions to influence story outcomes. Our aim is to create a sense of warmth and community as we tell the story together, and Jess and Krage are so charming and hilarious as Sam & Zoe that they always bring everyone along with them!

      Krage: Brown: We’ve partnered with the charity CALM for this production, to promote honest conversations around mental health. Each audience member will get a free comic book programme, which also signposts them to the charity’s mental health support services.

      Who would enjoy this production?

      Tristan Jackson-Pate: Of course, anyone with an interest in DnD, fantasy films and novels, but I’d say more broadly comedy fans, especially those who are looking to see something new and exciting at the theatre.

      Krage Brown: The show is aimed at ages 12+ so it’s pretty inclusive! I’d add that it’s also for anyone looking for a different night out – one that includes both watching some theatre but also joining in and being part of the fun.

      Jess Lloyd-Jones: I think if you love Lord of the Rings and fantasy gaming this is the show for you! I would love to say everyone should come but I’m realising that’s very greedy of me…

      Thanks to Tristan, Krage and Jess for their time to put this together.

      You can find a full list of dates on their website via the below link. More

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      Interview: Is It Love At First Sight For This Charming Play

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      Gina Thorley on My Soulmate’s Husband’s Soulmate

      We have to say, sometimes a show name stands out amongst them all. And you have to agree, My Soulmate’s Husband’s Soulmate is one of those times. If nothing else, trying to ensure those apostrophes are in the right place is enough to tax even our wonderful editors. And then trying to work out who it’s referring to is another mind altering affair. Luckily we had the chance to chat with the writer Gina Thorley to guide us through the complexities of it all, and find out whether it’s all love at first sight for the audience?

      You can also enter our competition to win a pair of tickets for the show via our competition here.

      That’s a mouthful of a title, tell us a little about the show?

      It certainly is, but it makes us giggle! My Soulmate’s Husband’s Soulmate (and, breathe!) is a one act play about an alternate world where, about two years before the play is set, soulmates very suddenly became real, and most people could follow a pulling feeling in their chest to find their perfect partner. Our lead characters Adrian and Erin, who haven’t felt this ‘pull’, are blindsighted one day when Erin’s soulmate Johan arrives on their doorstep. The play follows them as they decide what to do next, as well as some funny interludes which give an insight as to how the wider world is reacting to this big societal change. It’s a character led comedy, but with a little flavour of sci-fi or parallel reality – we’ve been compared more than once to Black Mirror which I feel is about right!

      So the show’s about the idea of love at first sight then? Is that something you believe in?

      Oh, definitely not! But yes, the characters experience something a little bit like ‘love at first sight’ when they meet their soulmates in the show. One of the things the story explores is the contrast between that kind of automatic ‘movie’ love, and ‘real’ love, the kind that takes work to keep alight.

      It also sounds like it could be a plot from a soap opera, that love triangle so to speak? But you’ve approached it with good humour – is comedy your forte then?

      The tensions between our three leads in their love triangle do have a soapy-vibe at times. The ‘soulmates’ in our story though are biologically fixed, they can’t be avoided or changed, which does mean our heroes kind of have no choice but to suck it up and get used to it, and the jealousy isn’t quite the same as a normal love triangle. Mudlarks Theatre‘s ethos is about approaching relatable, sometimes difficult topics with humour – comedy is definitely our favourite way of making work. Someone described the play as ‘serious philosophy mixed with proper lols’, which sums it up!

      The show is billed as “a road trip to find Adrian’s soulmate”; so are we going on a big journey with the show, is there lots of backgrounds to take us around the world with you?

      A road trip sure is difficult to stage on a budget, but we’ve come up with some inventive ways to show the passage of time and the changing locations. It may even involve a cheeky musical number, but I won’t spoil it for you!

      The show was first performed way back in 2019, has it changed much since then?

      Absolutely – we work in an ensemble directing style, so everyone has the same power to weigh in and suggest changes. The story hasn’t changed, but actors have ad libbed jokes and changed lines that are now in the current version. One actor even learned Norwegian to link further with his Scandinavian character, so that’s been woven in too. I also cut down the bad language from the first version to the current version after some stern words from my mother…it’s still pretty blue but I appeased her a little!

      Is this going to be a perfect date night play, or should young lovers avoid in just in case, you know, they spot their soulmate somewhere else in the audience?

      It’s a risk! Our first full performance of the show coincided with Valentine’s Day 2020 so we have a history of being a date night show. I think it works both ways – it’s kind of a testament to how romantic relationships can be imperfect but still wonderful, which is nice for the coupled up among us…but on the flip side any singletons witnessing the drama in the story might be thankful that they are!

      And do you think anyone has found their soulmate in your audience yet? Maybe you’ll get a wedding invite in the post soon?

      Not that we’ve heard, but that would be amazing! Four of our cast members are getting married in the next year though, so there’s definitely enough smoochy love to go around.

      My Soulmate’s Husband’s Soulmate plays at The Old Red Lion Theatre 20 and 21 March. Further information and bookings via the below link. More

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      Feature: The Women’s Prize for Playwriting

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      The beginning of something very powerful, promising true advocacy for women in theatre.

      The Women’s Prize for Playwriting was founded in 2019 by Ellie Keel in partnership with Paines Plough. Three years and a pandemic later, on 10 March 2022 it held its second awards ceremony, hosted by The London Library. To start the evening, Keel recounted how the global disruption has affected their work and how frightening it had been to consider having to close down the awards altogether. She remarked on how, standing in that room with so many people, it was humbling to be present, especially as at one point it was very uncertain whether anything like this would ever happen again. 

      The intention behind the prize is to provide better visibility for female (and female identifying) writers within the theatre industry, and to allow more unique narratives to be heard – which, of course, is an admirable cause to champion. 

      In the speeches leading up to the announcement of the winner, we got to hear from many speakers including Amy Trigg, the joint winner in 2020 with her play Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me. It was inspiring to hear how much support Trigg has received since winning, and this is possibly one of the most important aspects of the award: the continued support system. Many theatre companies fail to deliver upon their promise of backing post-award, so it’s reassuring to discover that Keel and Paines Plough are committed to fulfilling upon this.

      There were also rousing speeches from Keel and Chair of the Judges Mel Kenyon, with both individuals championing the worth of women and celebrating the sacred and constant alliance they have with each other. Though incredibly bolstering to hear, it should be noted that this isn’t the entire picture. Women can be just as oppressive and cruel to other women as men, using their influence to gatekeep opportunities, and with the theatre industry being no exception to this dynamic. Although it is important to promote a sense of unity between women, it is equally important not to build an overly romantic depiction of it. Ultimately, sharing the authentic ebbs and flows of womanhood promotes a safe and honest environment, encouraging writers (who usually do not feel welcomed or comfortable in spaces such as these) to take that intimidating first step and submit their script.

      Each of the finalists selected had arresting and intriguing stories to tell and could have easily won. However, unlike last year there could only be one award recipient and the selected 2021 winner was Consumed by Karis Kelly. Kelly will receive £12,000 in respect of an exclusive option for Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough to co-produce her play.

      Though still in its early years, The Women’s Prize for Playwriting shows great promise of being a true advocate for all women writers. And any cause willing to challenge the status quo, making theatre richer and more diverse, is definitely one to congratulate.

      You can find out more about the award and the team by visiting: https://womensprizeforplaywriting.co.uk/

      The full list of the 2021 finalists were:

      Mountain Warfare by Abi ZakarianBirdie by Alison CarrA Bouffon Play About Hong Kong by Isabella LeungFuries by Isley LynnConsumed by Karis Kellyupright enuf by lydia luke4 Decades by Paula B StanicHow I Learned to Swim by Somebody Jones More