The North Wall's E8 Wins Stage Award

Alice Vilanculo has won a Stage Award for her performance as Bailey in E8, written by former PRU worker, Marika McKennell, and directed by double Fringe First Award-winner, Ria Parry. In it she plays a vulnerable schoolgirl who falls through the cracks of an underfunded education system; she was praised by The Stage's reviews editor for a "layered portrayal of a volatile teenage girl." E8 is produced by The North Wall in association with the Pleasance.

E8 is a searing examination of life in an alternative provision school. Writer and spoken word poet Marika Mckennell has drawn from her personal experience working in PRUs (pupil referral units) in Hackney to paint a vivid portrait of young people excluded from mainstream education. Taking place over an hour of real time, E8 tells the story of Bailey, a student waiting for a decision that will change her life, and her relationship with her peers and head teacher, who is preparing to leave the school. Cut through with humour and pathos, their interaction asks audiences how we can consider each other's past pain if it leaves no visible mark.

Anthony Alderson, Director of the Pleasance said, "We're thrilled that this powerful play from The North Wall in association with Pleasance has been recognised with a Stage Edinburgh Award. This timely piece from Marika McKennell makes us consider those who have fallen through the cracks. It's very important that we continue having these relationships with such dynamic regional theatres and this is one such great example."

Marika Mckennell said, "The PRU I worked in for five years is very unusual - at best it's a family. I wanted to show the humanity and struggles of people there. I didn't want to write a political play, I wanted to tell truthful stories - which in an age of spin and rhetoric, is probably political."

Alice Vilanculo trained with the National Youth Theatre REP Company. Her most recent theatre credits include Rosmersholm (Duke of York Theatre) and To Kill a Mockingbird (Lyric Hammersmith).

Director Ria Parry is Co-Director of The North Wall, and co-founder of Iron Shoes theatre company which previously came to Edinburgh with Fringe First winning Mad About the Boy by Gbolahan Obisesan (2011) and Crush by Paul Charlton (2009).

The North Wall is an arts centre in Oxford led by Co-Directors Ria Parry and John Hoggarth. The venue's ArtsLab programme provides residential opportunities for early-career artists to learn new skills and develop new work. In addition to E8, they are co-presenting Lewis Doherty's BOAR at Pleasance Courtyard with Nottingham Playhouse.

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