Original Theatre Company Announces Cast For The Shortlisted Scripts For The Originals Playwriting Award 2022

Original Theatre Company today announces the all-star cast for the script-in-hand performances from the three shortlisted plays for the Originals Playwriting Award. The performances begin on 30 June with Eilidh Nurse's Miles starring Cristian Ortega, Hitfu Quasem, Gary Lewis and Lewis Mackinnon with direction from Amelia Sears. On 1 July Drew Hewitt's The Fall is next in the line-up, starring Alex Kingston, Tyger Drew Honey, Adrian Lukis and Sara Stewart with direction from Charlotte Peters, followed by Teunkie Van Der Sluijs' Tikkun Olam on 2 July starring Diana Quick, Luke Thompson, Debbie Korley and Jake Fairbrother with direction from Michael Boyd.

Launched in collaboration with Riverside Studios, The Originals Playwriting Award is designed for early career playwrights. It strives to innovate production opportunities with a brand-new production model giving more opportunities to scripts that otherwise might not be seen. Each of those shortlisted receive £2000, with the winner announced post the performances receiving a further £5000. All performances will be filmed and streamed at Riverside Studios by North South and will be available to watch once the live performances have concluded.

Alastair Whatley said today "After months of work enjoying hundreds of plays submitted by writers all over the UK, our Originals Playwriting Award reaches a thrilling climax with all three plays performed on three consecutive nights by three world class acting companies.

I cannot wait to share these fantastic plays with audiences in person at Riverside Studios and around the world through the wonders of live streaming."

MILES

By Eilidh Nurse

Directed by Amelia Sears

Thursday 30 June 7:15pm

"I feel like I've lost all this time."

Somewhere in Scotland, miles from anywhere, Bobby's Caravan Park is struggling, in fact it's crumbling. Janie is the only employee and she's been stuck out here for longer than she cares to admit - and she's drinking more than she's willing to admit, yet frankly who cares anymore? Ed can't pass the Tesco quiz, he can't go out in the rain without his cag in a bag, he can't drive, and he can't help who he's related to. But at least he's got a new job... at Bobby's Caravan Park. Hopes, dreams, and families collide in this searing, tender yet funny play that asks what it means to process our past and the traumas that lie within.

Cristian Ortega plays Ed. His theatre credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream (Ten Feet Tall Theatre) Wendy and Peter Pan (Edinburgh Lyceum Theatre), Outside in, Squash (Oran More/Traverse Theatre) Breakfast Plays: Youthquake (Traverse), 549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War (Wonder Fools/Citizens Theatre), The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (Lyceum Theatre), Let the Right One In (National Theatre of Scotland). His film credits include Beats, and his television credits include Annika, Vigil, One Of Us.

Hitfu Quasem plays Janie. Her theatre credits include Fission (Actors Centre/Fellside Productions), 2020 Stories (Scottish Youth Theatre), At Home I Speak (Rich Mix/The Space Between), Miss Julie (Perth/Tron/Festival Theatre/Horsecross Arts), Shudder (Soho Theatre), Our Town (North Wall Arts Centre). Her television credits include Ten Percent, This is Going to Hurt, Killing Eve, The Nest, Endeavor, Trigonometry, Casualty, Deadwater Fell, and Traces.

Gary Lewis plays Bobby. His theatre credits include White Rabbit Red Rabbit (Arches Theatre Glasgow), Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us (NTS), AALST (NTS/Victoria Belgium), The Birthday Party (The Arches Theatre), The Grapes of Wrath (7:84 Scotland). His film credits include Billy Elliot, Gangs of New York, Yes, Beckett Project, One Life Stand, The Rocket Post, My Name Is Joe, Orphans, Carla's Song, Fridge, Shallow Grave, Stella, My Son, Falling for Figaro, The Keeper, Keepers, Catch Me Daddy, The Devils Plantation, Not Another Happy Ending, The Boundary Man, Libertador, Filth, When The Light Went Out, Neds, Valhalla Rising, Wasted, Joyeux Noel, Bronson, Dorothy, Three and Out, True North, Blessed, Cargo, Eragon, Goal!, Ae Fond Kiss, Niceland, Pure, Solid Air. His television credits include Commonality, The Bay, Vigil, It's a Sin, His Dark Materials, Rig 45, Still Game, Frontier, In Plain Sight, The Level, One of Us, Outlander, Stonemouth, Death in Paradise, Glasgow Girls, Merlin, Young James, Outcasts, Vera, First Light, Mo, One Night in An Emergency, Rab C Nesbitt, Taggart, Wired, City of Vice, Silent Witness, Prime Suspect, Rebus, Super Volcano, Gun Powder Treason and Plot, Boudica, Rehab, and Life Support.

Lewis Mackinnon plays Elliot. His theatre credits include Deciphering (New Diorama), Three Sisters (Belfast Lyric Theatre), Your Last Breath (Curious Detective/Southwark Playhouse), Anna Karenina (Royal Court/Pegasus Theatre), Black Sheep (Soho Theatre). His film credits include Dragonheart 4: Dragonborn, Chosen. His television credits include Young Wallander, Doctors, and Victoria.

THE FALL

By Drew Hewitt

Directed by Charlotte Peters

Friday 1 July 7:15pm

"It's never the fall that kills you...It's the landing."

Whoever said that. Is wrong. It's the fall. Janet and Liam are happily married until she stops stalking to him. And everybody else. To diagnose her loss of speech she begins seeing a psychiatrist who starts to probe at a secret buried in the depths of Janet's psyche, the revelation of which has profound and lasting implications not just for her but the entire family. Drew Hewitt's masterful play examines with wit, humour, and searing honesty the complex ideas surrounding free will, love and the painful truths of existence.

Alex Kingston playing Greta. Her theatre credits include An Enemy of The People (Nottingham Playhouse), Admissions (Trafalgar Theatre), Macbeth (Manchester/New York), Luise Miller (Donmar Warehouse), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Garrick Theatre), The Lady From The Sea (The Bridewell Theatre) Othello, The Alchemist, Travelling Players, Saved, Julius Caesar (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), Bad Blood (Gate Theatre), Curse of the Starving Class, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Loves Labours Lost, The Bright and Bold Design (Royal Shakespeare Company), Darwins Flood (The Bush Theatre), The Tutor (The Old Vic), The Country Wife, 'Tis A Pity She's A Whore (Dukes Playhouse), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Sheffield Crucible), The Idiot (Contact, Manchester), Morning and Evening (Hamstead Theatre), French Without Tears (Leicester Haymarket). Her film credits include, Bukowski, Carrington, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, The Space Between Us, Crashing, Sordid Things, Callers, Like Crazy, A Pin for The Butterfly, Essex Boys, Croupier, Sweet Land, Alpha Dog, Boudicca. Her television credits include Treason, Dodger, A Discovery of Witches, The Widow, Crushed, Doctor Who, Shoot the Messenger, Chasing Shadows, Arrow, Upstairs Downstairs, NCIS, Private Practice, The Knock, Crocodile Shoes, Soldier Soldier, Covington Cross, Hannay, A Killing on the Exchange, Weapons of Mass Distraction, The Poseidon Adventure, Ben Hur, The Bill, The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders, ER, Without A Trace, Freezing, Lost in Austen, CSI, Hope Springs, Law and Order, Flashforward, Marchlands.

Tyger Drew Honey plays Tim/Tom. His theatre credits include Posh (Rose Theatre), Rocky Road (Panorama Productions). His film credits include Me, Myself and Di, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Friday Download - Up All Night, Horrid Henry. His television credits include, Death on Paradise, Cuckoo, Outnumbered, Citizen Kahn, Scream Street, High Strangers, Grantchester, Threesome, Midsomer Murders, The Ministry of Curious Stuff, Armstrong and Miller, The Large Family.

Sara Stewart plays Janet. Her theatre credits include Murder on The Orient Express (Chichester Festival), The Price (Wyndham's Theatre), Box of Delights (Wilton's Music Hall), Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties (Southwark Playhouse), The Cherry Orchard (Nottingham Playhouse), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Rapture Theatre), Contractions (Sheffield Crucible), Jumpy (Theatre Clwyd).

Adrian Lukis plays Liam. His Theatre credits include The Prince (Theatre Royal Bath), I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard (Finborough Theatre), The Seagull (National Theatre), Orson's Shadow (Jagged Fence Productions), Versailles (Donmar Warehouse), Bull (Sheffield Studio), Sherlock Holmes - The Best Kept Secret (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Taming of The Shrew (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Handyman, Marrying The Mistress (Guilford), As You Like It (Rose Theatre), Arthur and George, The Winslow Boy (Birmingham Repertory), Hay Fever (Rose Theatre), Pygmalion (Theatre Royal Bath), Kafka's Dick (Watford Palace Theatre), The Last South (Pleasance Theatre), Private Lives, The Philadelphia, Cloaca (Old Vic Theatre), Dinner (Wyndham's), Dead Funny, The Front Page (Chichester), The Relapse (Royal National Theatre), Sleep With Me (Royal National Theatre) Hay Fever (Rose Theatre). His film credits include Judy, Amundsen, The Voyage Of Doctor Dolittle, The Festival, City Slacker, Bert and Dickie, Victim, Nine Miles Down, Innocent, Nightwatching, 7 Seconds, Me Without You, Young Blades, The Trench. His television credits include Poldark, Bulletproof, Collateral, The Crown, Einstein, Grantchester, Genius, Apple Tee Yard, Black Mirror, X Company, Follow the Money, Red Dwarf, Downton Abbey, New Tricks, Death in Paradise, Toast, and Silk.

TIKKUN OLAM

By Teunkie Van Der Sluijs

Directed by Michael Boyd

Saturday 2 July 7:15pm

In everything you do, you must seek the opportunity to repair the world. Steve Alexander is preparing to stand as a labour MP for the Westminster constituency. As part of his campaign, he is backing the building of a holocaust memorial near parliament square, to help the campaign gain traction. Steve and his campaign manager Dan invite social influencer Leah on board as a one woman focus group. As Dan, Steve and Leah try and persuade the divided community to back the memorial their own motivations are challenged as the political and personal ties between them are tested to the very limit. A powerful, funny, intelligent political drama, that looks at the stark contrast in views and voices in and around our capital, the ever-growing divisions between the generations, and the challenging task of mending and learning to ensure we do and are better.

"I stand here and try and make sense of all the voices and I can't hear my own anymore."

Luke Thompson playing Dan. His theatre credits include, A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Globe), Blue Stockings (The Globe), Julius Caesar (The Globe), Tiger Country (Hamstead Theatre), The Broken Heart (The Globe), Oresteia (Almeida/Trafalgar Studios), Hamlet (Almeida/Harold Pinter Theatre), King Lear (The Duke of York Theatre). His film credits include Misbehaviour, Making Noise Quietly, Dunkirk. His television credits include In the Club, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Kiss Me First, Bridgeton.

Diana Quick playing Mary. Her theatre credits include, Anna (Royal National Theatre), The Model Apartment (Ustinov Theatre Bath) Mother Christmas, Anna and The Tropics (Hamstead Theatre) Babette's Feast (The Print Room), Electra (Old Vic Theatre), The Big Meal (Hightide Festival), The American Plan (St James' Theatre), Midnight Your Time (Donmar), Aristos (Chichester Festival Theatre), Single Spies (Theatre Royal Bath), Mother Courage and Her Children (Theatre Royal) You Can Never Tell (Garrick Theatre), After Mrs Rochester (Shared Experience), Mother Teresa Is Dead, The Old Neighbourhood, The Sea, King Lear (The Royal Court), Ghosts (English Touring Theatre), Be My Baby (Soho Theatre), Hamlet, The Changeling, The Women Pirates (Royal Shakespeare Company), A Map Of The World, Troilus and Cressida, Tamburlaine, Plunder and Phaedra Brittanica (National Theatre). Her film credits include Age, The Death of Stalin, The Nanny State, Mothers Milk, Love/Loss, The Revengers Tragedy, The Discovery of Heaven, Saving Grace, Vigo, The Leading Man, Nostradamus, The Misadventures of Mr Wilt.

Debbie Korley plays Leah. Her theatre credits include Beowulf (Unicorn Theatre); Prurience (Southbank Centre), The Residents (Albany Theatre), Cargo (Arcola), King Lear (Talawa/Manchester Royal Exchange/Birmingham Rep), Boi Boi is Dead (WYP/Tiata Fahodzi/Watford Palace Theatre), Too Clever By Half (Manchester Royal Exchange/Told By An Idiot), Black Jesus (Finborough Theatre), Little Eagles, Morte D'Arthur, Grain Store, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, American Trade, King Lear, As You Like it (RSC), Comedy of Errors (RSC/Told by an Idiot), Coram Boy (National Theatre), A Matter of Life and Death (Kneehigh/National Theatre), The Endings (Theatre 503), Feathers in the Snow (National Theatre Studio), Cinderella (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Whistle Down the Wind (West End/Tour), Sick (Almeida), Ten Suitcases (Drill Hall), Aida (Royal Albert Hall), Carmen Jones (Old Vic), The Vagina Monologues (Mercury Theatre, Colchester). Her film credits include King Lear.

Jake Fairbrother plays Steve. His theatre credits include The Fever Syndrome (Hamstead Theatre), Rosmersholm (Duke of York Theatre), The Maids (Home), Lady from The Sea (Donmar Warehouse), Twelfth Night (Crucible Theatre), The Last Days of Troy (Globe Theatre/Royal Exchange), A Life of Galileo, The Orphan of Zhao, Boris Godunov (RSC), Hamlet (National Theatre), Macbeth (Cheek by Jowl). His film credits include Stratton, Sandcastle, City of Tiny Lights, Skyfall. His television credits include Grace, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Vera, Death in Paradise, Strike Back, NW, and Transylvania.

ORIGINAL THEATRE

Operating and touring since 2004 the Original Theatre Company has toured extensively all over the UK and since 2020 have launched Original Theatre Online, producing a number of acclaimed online productions.

Recent online productions include Birdsong, Apollo 13: The Dark Side of the Moon, The Haunting of Alice Bowles, Barnes' People, A Splinter of Ice with live streaming of Being Mr Wickham, A Cold Supper Behind Harrods, The System into the Night, and The Red.

Recent stage productions include The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Splinter of Ice, The Croft, Sarah Waters' The Night Watch, Stephen Jeffreys' Valued Friends (co-production with Rose Theatre Kingston), Torben Betts' Caroline's Kitchen (originally Monogamy), Alan Bennett's The Habit of Art, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Frederick Knott's Wait Until Dark, Torben Betts' Invincible, Emlyn Williams' Night Must Fall, Terence Rattigan's Flare Path, and the award-winning tours of Sebastian Faulks's Birdsong adapted by Rachel Wagstaff.

Other productions include Three Men in a Boat (a co-production with the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, 2014 & 2015), the 50th anniversary production of Sir Peter Shaffer's The Private Ear and The Public Eye, Our Country's Good, See How They Run, Twelfth Night, Dancing at Lughnasa, Shakespeare's R&J, Vincent in Brixton, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, and The Madness of George III - starring the late, great Simon Ward, Journey's End.

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