Polka Theatre announces the winner of the inaugural Polka Playwriting Award, which champions playwriting and the creation of new work for young audiences.
The Award is generously funded by The Garek Trust, supported by Cockayne and London Community Foundation and the Award Partner is Methuen Drama, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
Winner Sarah Middleton will receive a full commission and staging of her play ‘Dweeb-A-Mania’ in Polka’s Adventure Theatre this Autumn, plus her script will be published by Award Partner, Methuen Drama.
Dweeb-A-Mania is a hilarious high-school story of two girls, Norah and Kemi, who aren’t invited to a Wrestling party, hosted by the school’s ultimate cool boy, Bentley. They are ‘dweebs’, something they can use to their advantage as they begin their mission to become the best Wrestlers in the school – and it turns out that Bentley may not be being honest about who he is after all.
Dweeb-A-Mania asks whether you should ever change yourself to fit in, and shouts loudly and proudly that everyone should be whoever they want to be!
Winner Sarah Middleton said, “I’m completely thrilled that Dweeb-A-Mania has won the Polka Playwriting Award. This is the first thing I’ve ever won, aside from a calculator in the Year 5 disco raffle in 1999, so I couldn’t be more pleased. The existence of this Award is such a boost for writers making work for young audiences, and I can’t wait to see this story about dweebs, wrestling and rotisserie chickens, in the ring at Polka.”
Sarah Middleton is a writer/actor from Derby. Her credits include SHEWOLVES, UK Tour and Southwark Playhouse; Pinocchio and Little Red Riding Hood for Nottingham Playhouse; The Wishing Stone for Separate Doors/Derby Theatre/Chichester Festival Theatre; and Wilf Goes Wild for MPTheatricals. Shows in development include Chuckers (Derby Theatre), Skin & Blister and VAMP. Sarah is also the recipient of a Hosking Houses residency, Peggy Ramsay grant and National Theatre Peter Shaffer commission.
The winner was selected from over 80 submissions from both new and experienced playwrights, following a shortlisting process. This included crucial feedback from a panel of young advisors (Polka Grads), a judging panel of; Artistic Director and Writer Chinonyerem Odimba, current Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho, Polka Patron and former Artistic Director Vicky Ireland, and Polka’s Artistic Director Helen Matravers. Other shortlisted writers included: Jennifer Claessen, Joe Ward Munrow, Mahad Ali, Tatty Hennessy and Tristan Bernays.
Polka Artistic Director Helen Matravers said, “I am beyond excited to finally announce the first ever winner of the Polka Playwriting Award. Sarah’s representation of young, inspiring, and self-confident ‘dweebs’ was a huge hit with the judges and with our Young Grad panel. The secondary-school setting and mix of moving friendships, with exciting wrestling action, leapt out at the whole team at Polka – it’s a play that inspires young people to be whoever they want, and to follow their passions wholeheartedly.
It has been such a fantastic process to read all the scripts submitted to the Award; we were blown away by the enthusiasm and rigor put into writing for this brilliant age group, and choosing one winner was no easy job. I want to say a huge thank you to all the playwrights who took the leap, who maybe wrote for young audiences for the first time, and to compel them to keep doing so! A massive thank you also to our judges, The Garek Trust, Cockayne and London Community Foundation, and Methuen Drama for coming with us on this new, important and exciting adventure. Here’s to a wonderful Autumn of new writing, wrestling and being nerdy at Polka!”
Polka Theatre is one of just a handful of dedicated children’s venues in the UK. Re-opening in 2021 after a major renovation, Polka continues to present a year-round programme of shows produced by Polka and from visiting companies. Polka also offers a full programme of creative learning activities for ages 0–12, with over 20,000 children taking part in the last year. Polka enjoys flexible rehearsal and workshop spaces along with two performance spaces: the Main Theatre has a 300-seat capacity, and the Adventure Theatre can seat up to 90 depending on the show format.
Polka is a community hub and vital resource, open 6 days per week, 50 weeks per year at a challenging time to be a sustainable public venue with step-free access, free-to-access play spaces and a cosy and welcoming café and shop.
