Amongst the thousands of acts at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, VL and Weather Girl jointly win this year’s Popcorn Writing Award, with The Book of Mountain and Seas and Knock on the Roof coming in second and third, sharing the prize fund of £6,500.
Written by Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair, VL explores the challenges and comedic absurdity of coming of age in a small-town school when you’re a VL (Virgin Lips). Kieran and Gary comment, We’re absolutely buzzing to have been awarded the Popcorn Award for VL. When we’re writing these characters together our first aim is just to make each other laugh, and discovering that Max and Stevie’s trials and travails resonate with others is a great reward. This award is testament to the work of Scott, Gav, Orla, Eve and the whole team, who put so much faith in us and elevate everything we write. Particular thanks have to go to Francesca and everyone at FMP for taking a chance on us again. To share this award with Brian and the Weather Girl team is our honour, and suggests that FMP lot might just know what they’re doing when it comes to backing new work.
Weather Girl by Brian Watkins is a blistering satire on climate change and the strange, dark heart of America. Brian comments, I am honoured to receive this storied award and to be recognized alongside so many other brilliant playwrights. This play is a love letter to where I’m from, for all its strangeness and dysfunction and dark enchanted corners, and I’m immensely grateful to the incredible team and audiences that embraced it wholeheartedly. Chief among those collaborators are my partner in crime actress Julia McDermott, whose brilliance willed the play into existence, director Tyne Rafaeli and producer Francesca Moody. I could not have done this without them. My deepest thanks to the award committee for this incredible honour, and for doing God’s work in supporting new writing.
The runners-up taking second and third place are The Book of Mountains and Seas by Yilong Liu, a bittersweet journey exploring grief, cultural clashes, and the unlikeliest of friendships; and Knock on the Roof by Khawla Ibraheem, a poignant yet comedic narrative portraying one mother’s resilience and instinct for survival in war-torn Gaza.
A special mention was given to Pop Off, Michelangelo! by Dylan MarcAurele, a sharp and irreverent musical comedy that hilariously reimagines the legendary rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, skillfully blending historical inaccuracies with contemporary humour.
The winner and finalists were announced at the award ceremony held at the Pleasance Courtyard Cabaret Bar on Thursday 22nd August at 11am, with winners and finalists in attendance. The winners were presented with their prize of £5000 from the Popcorn Group. They will also receive career development support from the Popcorn Group and BBC Writers.
Popcorn Group, a film, television, and theatre production company founded by filmmaker and artist Charlotte Colbert, has once again joined forces with nine renowned Edinburgh theatre venues to spotlight the best new writing at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Popcorn Writing Award celebrates bold, innovative, and exciting writing and spotlights writers with unique perspectives on important conversations. All shortlisted writers are offered valuable one-to-one meetings with both the Popcorn Group and BBC Writers.
Popcorn Group’s founder, filmmaker and artist Charlotte Colbert comments, This year again it’s been so inspiring to see the breadth and quality of the submissions. This year’s incredible selection of plays tackled societal, cultural and philosophical issues in such original and engaging ways and it has been such a joy to see them leap from page to stage while we’ve been up at the Edinburgh Fringe. In the age of corporate monopolies, the Fringe stands as a bastion of individual voices, vision and freedom. Each shortlisted play is a testament to this spirit and we are delighted to congratulate the joint winners and brilliant finalists of this year’s award.
Edinburgh Fringe-goers have been thoroughly entertained by this year’s shortlisted shows, with the award having showcased twenty entertaining and compelling plays, each a testament to the power of storytelling. These plays explored themes ranging from societal struggles to dark comedies and heartwarming tales of resilience.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the go-to place for discovering fresh talent, having launched the careers of stars like Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson, Jude Law, and Rachel Weisz. The Popcorn Writing Award is now an integral part of this tradition, championing new voices from around the world, with the Fringe remaining the perfect partner in discovering and promoting these remarkable stories.
Past winners include Bryony Kimmings, who penned Last Christmas with Emma Thompson, Karim Khan, now in writers’ rooms with Riz Ahmed, and Sabrina Ali, whose play Dugsi Dayz completed a successful run at the Royal Court earlier this year. Past winners and finalists have been commissioned by major broadcasters, joined BBC Writers’ programmes, and enjoyed transfers of their work to London and New York.
The nine partnering venues this year are Assembly, Gilded Balloon, Pleasance, Summerhall, theSpaceUK, Traverse, Underbelly, Greenside, and ZOO Venues, joining for the first time this year.
The winner and finalists for this year’s award are as follows:
Joint winners: VL – Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair
Weather Girl – Brian Watkins
Runners-up: The Book of Mountains and Seas – Yilong Liu
Knock on the Roof – Khawla Ibraheem
Special mention: Pop Off, Michaelangelo! – Dylan Marcaurele
