Woolwich Young Radio Playwrights' Competition 1998
This was the eighth year of the award winning scheme to discover and professionally produce Britain's most promising young playwrights.
The sponsorship by Woolwich plc combined with production by IRDP and broadcasting by LBC offers young writers the chance to have their work broadcast to a wide audience. With LBC offering live broadcast on their web site, the plays can be heard throughout the world. The plays will also be offered to local and regional radio stations and arts festival radio services throughout Britain.
The Woolwich scheme has pioneered radio drama workshops, educational packs and the developmental links between radio and theatre playwriting. The Competition won the ABSA / Daily Telegraph Award for Youth Sponsorship in 1991. Winning writers have gone on to win prestigious awards at the International Radio Festival of New York and commendations at the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards and Prix Italia. The support of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain means that the winning writers receive professional contracts and the chance to join the country's leading craft union for playwrights.
The ten winning plays will all be produced for radio broadcast. An additional feature this year is the introduction of the 'Internet Play of the Month' on this website. The ten winning plays will be featured for a whole month each; the web page will include details about the play as well as background information about the writer, and a sound file of the entire play which can be listened to on demand at any time of day or night, from anywhere in the world. The Play of the Month is available using Real Audio and can be found at: http://www.irdp.co.uk/playmonth.htm.
The Competition's Patron for the first six years, the distinguished writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, has said this unique scheme has become an 'important institution for the young writers of Britain giving them a fulfilling opportunity to launch their careers as professional writers'. The Competition's new Patron is Carla Lane, OBE, and supporters include Bill Ash, Jane Asher, Peter Barkworth, Melvyn Bragg, Leslie Grantham, Aden Gillett, Nerys Hughes, John Mortimer, Lady Ralph Richardson, Lord Thomson of Monifieth and Toyah Willcox.
In this year's competition around 300 scripts were created by writers aged 25 and under from all parts of Great Britain. The purpose of the competition is to encourage and inspire and to provide constructive guidance to all the young writers who have made the huge creative endeavour of writing a play. Each entrant receives a detailed critique on their play.
The competition pays tribute to the reading panel and critique writers: Amanda Affleck-Cruise, Ken Armstrong, Dallas Campbell, Alastair Dougall, Emma Howell, Paul Nimmo, Rachel Sinclair and William Sutton.
A shortlist of fifty scripts was then considered by a forum of judges who had to make the difficult decision of selecting ten plays for full professional radio production and then select first, second and third place.
The judges included: David Blake (Chairman), Toyah Willcox, Aden Gillett, Anna Hashmi, Russell Twisk, Gail Johnson, Emma Howell, Tim Crook, Richard Shannon and Marja Giejgo.
The awards ceremony took place at the Criterion Theatre, Piccadilly Circus, London, on Friday May 15th 1998. The plays positioned first, second and third were announced, and all ten winning writers received their certificates and cheques.
The winners are applauded by (left to right): Nikki Townley, David Blake, Anna Hashmi, Tim Crook, Aden Gillett and Richard Shannon.
THE WINNING WRITERS AND THEIR PLAYS
Click on the camera by each winner's name to see a picture of them receiving their award from Aden Gillett
STRAY DOGS AND STRANGERS
Colin Bytheway
Colin is 24 and lives in Bristol. He studied English and Drama at Bristol University and graduated in 1992. Since then he has achieved considerable success with his writing, winning the Lloyds Bank Film Challenge in 1997 with his screenplay Nurse Ajax which was screened on Channel 4. Before that, in 1996, he wrote and co-produced a short film called Skip Life which was shown widely at short film festivals in Britain and abroad. He is currently working on other TV and film projects. Stray Dogs and Strangers tells the story of Ellie and her wild companion Jacca, who run away from their multi-institutional existence to pursue a life of burglary, car theft and general mayhem. The judges said 'this cleverly plotted script throws the two heroines into a situation where they can pose as the long lost daughters of a recently deceased millionaire. Colin has put himself in the seat of the radio listener and has come up with a narrative which is wonderfully cinematic in nature. The writer's energy and enthusiasm shines through this play'.
MR CARNEGIE
Anson Clark
Anson is 19, comes from Cheshire and is currently in his second year at Nottingham University where he is studying English. Anson submitted several very good scripts to this year's competition, two of which were short-listed. The judges felt that his writing displayed a maturity and an intellectual and emotional depth which was very impressive. He also writes poetry and was named Trafford Young Poet of the Year in 1995 at the age of 16. Scribble, the Nottingham University magazine, regularly publishes Anson's poetry. He hopes to go on to study film-making after graduating next year. The judges said 'Mr Carnegie is an effective mystery right from the opening scene which successfully hooks the listener. Flashbacks are used well to create a plot which spans the life of the protagonist. There are strong themes in the relationship of Art, Time and Youth which chime in well with the Romantic references. Anson uses his main character's poetic past to create some beautiful speeches which are rich with ideas'.
TORN APART
Darien Davis
Darien is 14 and lives in London. At school he has always been a keen participant in drama productions, and he also attends the Mountview Theatre School in North London on Saturdays. His enthusiasm for drama extends both to acting and writing. The judges were unanimous in their appreciation of the fine quality of Darien's characterisation. They felt that his play 'resonates with truth, dignity and sympathy for the main character, a young boy whose life is in danger of disintegrating when his mother leaves home and his father's inability to cope with the situation creates an atmosphere of tension and violence. Through a series of diary entries interspersed with dialogue, the writer cleverly shows the terror inflicted on the young boy, deftly portraying his strengths and weaknesses. The ending, with the boy's triumphant declaration that he will survive, is ultimately satisfying and truthful'.
ALL FOR THE BEST
Sevil Delin
Sevil is 22, half Turkish and half American and is currently working for an advertising agency in Turkey, having graduated in 1997 from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where she studied English. She is a previous winner of the competition. Her play Echoes in the Park was one of four winners in 1994 produced for stage as well as radio. It was directed by Gerard Murphy and played to a full house at London's Cambridge Theatre. All For The Best is set in the future, in the year 2073. Society is governed by an unidentified corporation which dictates people's lives through means and abilities testing which shows where they would be most useful and satisfied in terms of education, career and finally, marriage. The main characters are about to take a test which will result in them finding a partner. Generally this regime is tolerated. However, the system finally shows its inability to admit it is wrong and dissent is not allowed. The judges said 'this is a fine example of radio drama writing, with excellent use of sound effects, an inspired talking computer, and characters drawn with a uniquely poetic vision. The result is a chilling tale of the individual's helplessness in a cold, rigid faceless society'.
COLD LASAGNE
Jane Duncan
Jane lives in Newmachar in Aberdeenshire and has won the competition on five previous occasions. She turned 26 just after the closing date for this year's competition, and has been impressing the judges with her writing ever since the first competition back in 1990 when her script Never Say Noir was one of the ten winners and went on to be awarded a bronze medal for Best Writing at the International Radio Festival of New York. Jane has also had considerable success with writing for the theatre and for television. Full Board, a short film written by Jane and produced by Independent Image, was broadcast on Channel 4 as part of the She-play series in 1992. This film was subsequently sold to Finland. Jane's stage plays have been performed throughout Scotland and she is currently working on several projects which include a four-part television comedy drama and several other scripts for film and television. Cold Lasagne looks at a marriage break-up through the eyes of a 9 year old girl who attempts to manipulate a reconciliation between her parents by going on a hunger strike. Her ploy does not achieve the desired effect and by the end of the play Emily is a sadder, wiser girl. The judges said 'the writer's use of music by Emily's favourite group - the Spice Girls - throughout the play creates a contemporary feel, at the same time introducing a skilful juxtaposition of lyrics and dialogue'.
TEE HEE HEE; AN EVACUEE
Ralphe Hulle
Ralphe is 9 and has been a member of Moffat Youth Theatre since the age of 5. He is passionate about history and the theatre, and was inspired to write his play when he heard stories of wartime evacuation from relatives and other people with direct experience of being evacuees. Moffat is a small town in Dumfriesshire in southern Scotland and the Youth Theatre consists of a group of around 50 young people, aged from 5 to 18. Members of the group have also had success this year in the Unicorn Theatre playwriting competition. The group's leader is Ralphe's mother, Ericka, who says that all the plays produced at the theatre result from a long process of role play, improvisation and workshops. Ralphe wrote many of the characters in his play for his friends to perform and it is this which has made the play so truthful. He would particularly like to mention Bobby Murray and Andrew Whitfield. The judges were very impressed by Ralphe's writing and said 'this is a wonderful story, well told: evocative for those who were there, informative for those who weren't. But it's more than that - not just a wartime tale, but a story for anyone who has ever been lonely'.
TO HEAR YOUR VOICE AGAIN
Gordon Ridout
Gordon is 25 and is an actor living in London. He has been acting for several years, having studied at The Academy, Whitechapel in London. He has also written for the stage, having two half-hour plays performed at fringe theatres in London as well as a dramatisation which was performed on stage at The Academy. In To Hear Your Voice Again, a young woman comes back from the dead to say her last goodbyes, only to find that the one person she really wants to communicate with is not listening to her, or cannot hear her. This leads to a series of one-way 'conversations' with the boyfriend she has left behind. He seems to spend most of his time on the telephone talking to other people and this device, perfect for the radio medium, clearly builds up a picture of his life and of how he is determined to get on without her. Only one person is able to 'hear' what she has to say. The judges enjoyed this 'well written, funny and engaging play which keeps the audience on its toes, with a self-referential ending which creates a whole new level for the piece to function on'.
BLIND SPOT
Andrew Sheerin
Andrew is 22 and in his final year of studying English and German at Leeds University. He has always been keen on writing and was inspired to write his play by one of his other hobbies, bird-watching. Blind Spot takes place in a hide on a nature reserve, with three characters who gradually reveal more about themselves as the story unfolds. One of the characters is blind, which serves to emphasise the sounds throughout the play, making it ideal for the radio medium. It is a love story which has reached its crisis point and the listener is always kept guessing as to the outcome. The judges were impressed with Andrew's use of the medium and said 'this is a highly individual piece combining elements of tragedy and comedy. The location and the obsessive focus on the birds is so well interwoven with the emotional triangle of the three characters. The writer shows a deft touch in the construction of his play but also reveals a humane but wry perspective on the relationships he has drawn'.
BREAKFAST INCLUDED
Andy Smith
Andy is 25 and lives in London. He was one of the winners of the first Woolwich competition back in 1990 and two years before that he had a script produced in the BBC's first Young Radio Playwrights' Festival. He has written many more plays since then, and this is the fourth time he has won the Woolwich competition. He is currently studying at the Mountview Theatre School, having previously worked in the German service of the BBC after obtaining an MA with Distinction in Radio from Goldsmiths' College, University of London. Andy's writing for the Woolwich competition has attracted international awards, recognition at Prix Italia and production overseas. Still Stationery, which won in 1995, has also been broadcast in Finland and Germany. Breakfast Included is a bare-knuckled exploration of the true nature of homosexual love which begins in adolescence, and it confronts the reality of HIV and aspects of the contemporary gay scene. The judges said 'this script has astonishing power and honesty and represents the expression of a mature voice in writing'.
GOING AWAY
Paul Williamson
Paul is 23 and has been living and working in Surrey since graduating in 1996 with a degree in Theatre Studies and Experience of Writing at Derby University. This is the same course which has produced two previous winners of the Woolwich competition, Michael Percival and Vikki Morris. Paul currently works in the box office at The Ambassadors in Woking, but his experience of theatre also encompasses writing and acting. His first play was performed as a rehearsed reading at the Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead, where he has also been involved as an actor, notably in The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter. Going Away is a monologue which concerns an old lady, Margaret, who is packing, ostensibly to go on holiday. Each item she packs brings back powerful memories, mostly of her husband Jack, but also of the American soldier, Tom, with whom she had an affair - a guilty secret she has kept all her life. It transpires that Jack is no longer alive and the real reason for packing her suitcase becomes clearer as the play develops, culminating in the eventual realisation that she is leaving her own home forever. The judges said 'this simple idea is extremely well handled by the author and gives rise to some exceptionally well observed, amusing and poignant reflections.'
We also have a page about last year's competition winners.
We are delighted to announce a new opportunity open to all writers who have won our competitions since 1990, The Edith Ruddick Award.
Click here for some pictures from the
winners' dinner at the Royal Society of Arts.
IRDP website by Marja Giejgo