On Sat 5 Feb Box of Tricks return to HOME to showcase the two new plays from the winners of the inaugural Screen/Play Award in partnership with Sky Studios: Dead Boys by Sarah Tarbit and Priestess by Conway McDermott.
In this new blog, discover more about the award, and what you can expect from this weekend’s events.
Our Screen/Play Award launched to unearth two writers from the North of England with electrifying stories that spark the imagination. The winning writers were awarded a bursary of £10,250 to write a brand new play and a short screenplay – inspired by a single central idea – developed with support from Box of Tricks and Sky Studios’ Innovation Hub throughout 2021.
Want to know more? We sat down with the winning writers, Sarah and Conway, to find out what this award means to them.
Sarah Tarbit
Dead Boys
11.30, Sat 5 Feb
“I want to show the realities of living in a town and community that’s been scarred by a long gone industry. I want to show the humanity that’s here that’s so often ignored when the media mock, villianize or shame people who are below the poverty line, unemployed, struggle with mental ill-health, have unstable housing, a criminal record or an addiction… I write to advocate for social justice.”
Read Sarah’s interview in full here.
Conway McDermott
Priestess
16.00, Sat 5 Feb
“When I used to describe my process as ‘write like you’re running away from something’, the thing I was running from was the fear that I had no future… I felt like I was pouring all my time, energy and money into an industry that held me in contempt, and I absolutely consider myself one of the lucky ones.”
Read Conway’s interview in full here.
Join us at our Screen/Play Sharings Day at HOME on Sat 5 Feb and see rehearsed readings of the plays by our Award-Winning Writers, alongside a panel discussion on Representation in Theatre (the panel is free, you can book tickets here.)
We’re so excited about sharing these incredible, urgent new plays and bringing people together to celebrate new Northern voices and stage new Northern stories.
See you there!
Adam, Hannah, Max & Al
Box of Tricks Theatre Company