JAMAICAN WINS PLAY WRITING COMPETITION

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2013/int-playwriting-competition.html

International Playwriting Competition 2012 – winners announced
Date: 14.02.2013Last updated: 14.02.2013 at 15.41
Category: World Service
BBC World Service and the British Council, in partnership with
Commonwealth Writers, have announced the winners of the 23rd
International Playwriting Competition.
Ugandan playwright Angella Emurwon has been awarded first prize in the
English as a Second Language category for her play Sunflowers Behind A
Dirty Fence. Representing Jamaica, Janet Morrison triumphed with her
play The Fisherman, which won first prize for English as a First
Language.
The competition, now in its 23rd year, invites anyone resident outside
Britain, to write a 53-minute radio drama for up to six characters.
This year’s competition attracted more than 1,000 entries from the
widest range of countries ever received. These included plays about
Gorgons in Australia, art forgery in India, men stuck in holes in
Greece and cockroach races in Qatar. The breadth of imagination was
limitless.
As part of their prize the two winners will visit the UK later this
month, where they will attend a prize-giving ceremony and witness
their winning plays being recorded. The plays will be broadcast on BBC
World Service in March and April 2013.
Sunflowers Behind A Dirty Fence by Angella Emurwon, Uganda (Director:
Rosalynd Ward) – BBC World Service, Saturday 30 March 2013, 2200-2300
GMT
Young Yakobo has never been in trouble before – but now he’s lost his
grandfather’s favourite photo and, in his desperation to make things
right, he decides to take an ill-advised trip to the big city of
Kampala.
Yakobo’s never been away from the comforts of home before and has no
idea about many things. Reluctantly joining forces with the street
urchin, Tonnie, together they topple in and out of bizarre adventures
and discover why good people sometimes do bad things. Like sunflowers
behind a dirty fence, the two friends are to find that sometimes the
best things can be hidden behind an unwelcome exterior.
A rites of passage story from Uganda, this winner of the 2nd language
category was described by the judges as “a touching, purposeful
adventure in which the characters jumped straight off the page.”
The Fisherman by Janet Veronica Morrison, Jamaica (Director: Helen
Perry) – BBC World Service, Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April 2013
In a sleepy Jamaican fishing village, Granma and Granpa find
themselves unexpectedly having to bring up their teenage
grandchildren, Jevaughan and Latoya, after their only daughter has
left the island.
The teenagers feel out of place in their new quiet surroundings, but
while Jevaughan is more or less resigned to his fate, his wilder
sister Latoya has a plan to escape. Her rebellion, however, is to
trigger a series of horrifying events, as she goes missing, leaving
her family to search for her. Their lives become embroiled in the
growing sex trade industry which has engulfed the northeast coast of
the island: a blot on the district which, until now, most people have
tried to ignore. As the village fishermen rise to the occasion in an
effort to protect their community, it becomes clear that not everyone
can be trusted. The results of their attempt are to change the
teenagers – and the village – forever.
The judges described the winner of the English as a first language
category, Janet’s play, as, “an ambitious story, which came to life
instantly – a real thriller”.
The five runners-up in the Regional Winners categories were:
• Europe – And the Sun Went on Shining Cynically by Seda Stepanyan, Armenia
• The Americas – Before We Leave by Jose Eduardo Alcazar, Paraguay
• Asia – A Holy Man by David Price, Hong Kong
• The Middle East – Tunnel Vision by Ray Dolphin, Jerusalem
• The Pacific – Lucky Bird by Neva Grant, Australia
The full judging panel included Actress and Comedian, Nina Wadia;
Award-winning playwright, Bola Agbaje; Bafta-winning TV producer,
Mervyn Watson; BBC World Service Senior Commissioner, Steve
Titherington; Director of Drama and Dance at the British Council, Neil
Webb; and Executive Producer of BBC Radio Drama, Marion Nancarrow.
Steve Titherington, Senior Commissioner for the BBC World Service,
says: “The entries were incredibly strong. Many of the plays were
gripping from start to finish. These two winners are fast moving and
action packed, but also based on provocative and contemporary themes,
which will resonate with our audiences. They centre on some great
characters which bring these issues to life in a very real way. I
can’t wait to hear them.”
Neil Webb, Director of Drama and Dance for the British Council says:
“The British Council is delighted to again be partnering with the BBC
to support the development of new writing and give voice to
playwrights from around the world. Personally, I was thrilled to be
one of the judges this year. I very much enjoyed the shortlisted
plays, the themes they explored and the range of emotions they evoked.
It was a privileged insight into the colours, sights and sounds of so
many different worlds, and I look forward to hearing the works of the
two winners brought to life on air.”
“It’s great news that two playwrights from the Commonwealth have risen
to the top of this year’s competition. Commonwealth Writers would like
to congratulate all the shortlisted writers and is looking forward to
working with the winners as writers-in-residence on our website to
pass on their experience to other emerging playwrights worldwide,”
Lucy Hannah, Programme Manager, Commonwealth Foundation
SW