Finborough Theatre Announces VIBRANT 2011 - A FESTIVAL OF FINBOROUGH PLAYWRIGHTS

VIBRANT 2011 - A FESTIVAL OF FINBOROUGH PLAYWRIGHTS 5-30 JULY

Twelve new plays, twelve Finborough playwrights...

Curated by Finborough Theatre Artistic Director Neil McPherson
The multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre presents Vibrant 2011 - A Festival of Finborough Playwrights, its annual festival of Finborough Playwrights, running from 5-30 July 2011. The festival features - and is centred around - a month long run of Nick Gill's Mirror Teeth (originally seen as a staged reading in the very first Vibrant - A Festival of Finborough in 2009), accompanied by a six performance Sunday/Monday run of Nell Dunn's Home Death, together with a late night season of ten staged readings of ten new works for the stage by ten UK and international playwrights,
discovered, developed or championed by the Finborough Theatre.
The staged readings are:
Tuesday, 12 July 2011 - The Piper by Colleen Murphy. Directed by Fidelis Morgan.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011 - Sihanoukville by Sarah Grochala. Directed by Eleanor Rhode.
Thursday, 14 July 2011 - There Goes My Future by Nicholas de Jongh. Directed by Sam Yates.
Friday, 15 July 2011 - Given The Times by Omar El-Khairy. Directed by Daniel Burgess.
Saturday, 16 July 2011 - Hey Brother by Bekah Brunstetter. Directed by Oscar Toeman.
Sunday, 17 July 2011 - No Vibrant performance
Monday, 18 July 2011 - No Vibrant performance
Tuesday, 19 July 2011 - Bamboozl'd . Written and Directed by Brian Logan.
Wednesday, 20 July 2011 - In World by Jane Wainwright. Directed by Blanche McIntyre.
Thursday, 21 July 2011 - Splitshift by Titas Halder. Directed by Kate Budgen.
Friday, 22 July 2011 - Namaskar by Rosa Connor. Directed by Ola Ince.
Saturday, 23 July 2011 - Black Jesus by Anders Lustgarten. Directed by Rae Mcken.

THE PAPATANGO NEW WRITING FESTIVAL 2011 SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

We are very happy to announce the final shortlist of 25 plays - from over 600 entries - for this year's Papatango Playwriting Competition in association with the Finborough Theatre. Four winning entries will be selected from this final shortlist of 25 - one play will receive a full four week production at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre in December 2011, while three of the other shortlisted plays will each receive a one week run as part of the festival, together with a series of rehearsed readings, forums and discussions.

The final shortlist and the winning plays will be announced in mid-July 2011.

The Papatango New Writing Festival 2011 at the Finborough Theatre will play from Tuesday, 30 November to Friday, 23 December 2011.

The final shortlist of 25 plays are:
An Attic in Hucknall by Nigel Crow
Names of Birds by Thomas McMullen
Somewhere Close Always by Martyn Hesford
Rigor Mortis by Carol Vine
Wrecked by Marcelo Dos Santos
The Bog Down in the Valley Oh by Michelle Forde
Only Human by Rose Lewenstein
After by Kenneth Emson
The Therapy Room by Georgina Burns
Horses for Courses by Sally Woodcock
The Pledge by Alan Harris
Raging by Ben Fensome
Through the Night by Matthew Morrison
Belfast Girls by Jacqueline McCarrick
Foxfinder by Dawn King
United State by Philip Gawthorne
Four Days of Grace by Drew Ballantyne
Ice-Cream in Rain by Lola Stephenson
Jewels by Claudine Toutoungi
Coffin by Tristan Bernays
In World by Jane Wainwright
Birth Rites by Simon Glass
Raiders Road by Andrew Curtis
Strawberry Hill by Nick Harrop
Crush by Rob Young

The final 25 plays have been chosen by Papatango's three co-Artistic Directors (Sam Donovan, Matt Roberts and George Turvey). The final winners will be selected from the shortlist by a distinguished panel of judges including:
Van Badham - Literary Manager of the Finborough Theatre
Colin Barr - Director of Maxwell and Best His Mothers' Son
Ruth Carney - Associate Director on Lord of the Rings and Ghost
Matt Charman - Award Winning Writer of A Night at the Dogs (Soho Theatre), The Observer and The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder (National Theatre)
Tamara Harvey - Director of Plague Over England (Finborough Theatre and Duchess Theatre) and Whipping It Up (Ambassadors Theatre) as well as Co-Director of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Garrick Theatre)
Catherine Johnson - Award winning Writer of Mamma Mia! and Suspension (Bristol Old Vic)
Jeremy Kingston - Writer and The Times Critic
Neil McPherson - Artistic Director of the Finborough Theatre
Con O'Neil - Olivier Award Winning Actor, Joe Meek in Telstar
Tanya Tillet - Literary Agent Knight Hall Ltd.

Founded in 2008, theatre company Papatango have produced eight plays in three years including The Muse by Matt Roberts in 2008 (Pleasance London); Angel by Matt Grinter in 2008 (Pleasance London), Winner of Best Overall Production at the Lost One Act Play Festival 2008 - "Riveting Performances, powerfully directed" - Jeremy Kingston, The Times, "A Great Piece of Theatre" - Steven Berkoff; Potentials by Dominic Mitchell (Tristan Bates Theatre), Winner of the Papatango New Writing Competition 2009 - "Truly tense with an utterly gripping climax" **** "WhatsOnStage, "Potentials was beautifully observed and conceived. The performances were strong, witty and true. It was also British and Modern - things I am passionate about " (Emma Rice, Artistic Director, Kneehigh); and Christmas
Reloaded by Philip Gawthorne (Old Red Lion Theatre). Last year's festival played at the Tristan Bates Theatre and included competition winner Leopoldville by Jacqueline McCarrick, My Balloon Beats your Astronaut by Kerry Hood, directed by Elly Green, The Ducks by Michael McLean and Stuff by John Seymore, directed by Vik Sivaligam. Papatango's patrons include David Suchet, Zoe Wanamaker, Howard Davies, Andrew Welch and Jeremy Gold.

www.papatango.co.uk

FINBOROUGH THEATRE PLAYWRIGHT-IN-RESIDENCE ANDERS LUSTGARTEN WINS FIRST Harold Pinter PLAYWRIGHT'S AWARD

Anders Lustgarten has won the inaugural Harold Pinter Playwright's Award for his play A Day at the Racists, inspired by the workings of the British National Party, and which received its world premiere at the Finborough Theatre in March 2010. The new annual award, given by Pinter's widow Antonia Fraser, will support a new commission at the Royal Court. The Finborough Theatre has presented a play by Playwright-in-Residence Anders Lustgarten annually since 2007 including The Insurgents (2007), Enduring Freedom (2008) and - as Pearson Playwright-in-Residence at the Finborough Theatre - A Day at the Racists which also won the Catherine Johnson Award (2010). His work has also appeared in two Vibrant - A Festival of Finborough Playwrights festivals include Death and the Kit-Kat (A Torture Comedy) (2009) and
The Punishment Stories (2010). His latest work, Black Jesus, will receive a staged reading at this year's Vibrant festival.

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