Northern Broadsides Executive Director Sue Andrews To Receive Prestigious Award and to Step Down After 25 Years

Northern Broadsides is delighted to announce that their Executive Director Sue Andrews has won the prestigious WGGB OLWEN WYMARK THEATRE ENCOURAGEMENT AWARDS 2017.

The Olwen Wymark Awards, the brainchild of playwright Mark Ravenhill, were set up to give WGGB (Writers Guild of Great Britain) members the opportunity to publicly thank those who had given them a positive experience in new writing over the previous year.

They are named in honour of playwright Olwen Wymark, passionate supporter of WGGB and former Chair of the WGGB Theatre Committee, who died in 2013.

Nominated by WGGB member playwright Deborah McAndrew (An August Bank Holiday Lark and the forthcoming new adaptation of Charles Dickens Hard Times) for her support since Deborah's first production for Northern Broadsides in 2004.

Deborah McAndrew said: "I have had eight plays produced by Northern Broadsides and Sue's encouragement and hard work on my behalf has been fantastic throughout. She reads every draft and is unshakeable in her support of the writer.

"Sue's determination in recent years that all new work for the company should be published has meant that four of my plays have been published by Methuen, including the 2017 production of my adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. I know that Sue was also behind the commissioning of An August Bank Holiday Lark, which won 'best new play' awards for me in 2014.

"She has made so much of my work possible from the very beginning right up to the present time and receives little or no public recognition for everything she does."

Sue, who has been with Northern Broadsides since its formation in 1992 will be stepping down from her role as Executive Director later this year.

Sue Andrews said about receiving her award: "I am delighted to be receiving this award. It is always exciting to commission a new play and a joy to see it on a stage but for me, nothing quite beats having the final, published edition in my hand which gives the play a permanence and possible future life. It is a privilege to be a small part in this process and it is only possible in the first place because of the huge and enviable talent of the writer."

Sue Andrews is one of 9 winners of the prestigious award. Other winners include Ghislaine Kenyon (freelance trainer, curator and author in the area of visual arts and education), Nicola McCartney (playwright); Jon McKenna (actor); Deirdre McLaughlin (director, dramaturg and actor trainer), Emma Manton and Matthew Woodyatt; John Retallack (director) Angela Street (Associate Practitioner at Salisbury Playhouse and Salisbury Arts Centre) the salon:collective and its Artistic Director Dominic Kelly.

David James, former Chair of the WGGB Theatre Committee, who has organised the award since 2005, said: "The award was set up to make a statement of how important encouragement is, and is based on the simple premise of saying 'thank you'. Now in its 13th year, it is a bright spot on the Writers' Guild's annual calendar."

Sue will receive the award at The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) annual awards for the encouragement of new writing at The Royal Court Theatre, London, on Friday 2 February 2018.