Derby Theatre's Adam Pownall awarded Encouragement of New Writing Award.

Derby Theatre Programme Co-ordinator receives Writers’ Guild award Derby Theatre is delighted to announce that Adam Pownall, their  Programme Co-ordinator, has been awarded an Encouragement of  New Writing award by The Theatre Committee of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. Adam, who took up his programming role at Derby Theatre in August  this year, was nominated for the award whilst in his previous role of Theatre Co-ordinator at Create Theatre in Mansfield. He was nominated  by Nottingham playwright, Nick Wood, whose credits include My Name is Stephen Luckwell, Birdboy and Can You Whistle, Johanna? Nick has also done commissions for Radio 4, the Royal Shakespeare Company,Nottingham Playhouse and Theatre Royal Plymouth and his plays have been produced across the world.

 

Nick nominated Adam due to his passion and enthusiasm for encouraging, championing and developing new writing within theatre in the region. Locally-based, critically acclaimed and award-winning independent theatre company, Fifth Word also wrote a letter of support for Adam’s nomination after he supported them as a company, and programmed them to perform two of their productions, Bones and Amateur Girl at Create Theatre.

 

The Encouragement of New Writing awards were the brainchild of the playwright Mark Ravenhill (Mother Clap’s Molly House, Some Explicit Polaroids), and were set up to give Guild members the opportunity publicly to thank those who had given them a particularly positive experience in new writing over the previous year. Adam Pownall said: “I am immensely proud, yet humbled, to even be nominated for this award. I am overjoyed that my hard work in supporting new writing has been accredited and noted within the industry. I shall continue to support writers from the region, and further afield, to give them a voice within theatre, and I hope that the region continues to be an exceptional place for writers to learn their craft.

 

The East Midlands has a rich variety of stories to tell about itself, but these talented writers need connecting to opportunities. My passion for developing writers and theatre companies who support new writing will continue within my role as Programme Co-ordinator for Derby Theatre, where learning is at the heart of all strands of our work, as is supporting the next generation of artists, including writers.” Adam, along with all the other winners, will attend an awards luncheon at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square on Fri 28 November to receive his award.