Prize winning performance at York Theatre Royal
Theatre graduate prize winners will be
performing Letters to Yséult and
Journey to Karawane as a double bill at York Theatre Royal
on Monday 8 October.
Rich Wade, Joel Dean and Adam Ekin are the 2012 winners of the
annual York Theatre Royal and York St John theatre graduate prize.
The prize represents a commitment to assisting creative individuals
in the post-graduation transition to professional arts practice
from both the Theatre and the University and is presented to a
final year student or group of students studying Theatre at York St
John University.
This year the Prize was judged by Damian
Cruden and Juliet Forster, the artistic director and associate
director of York Theatre Royal. Rich Wade won the prize for
Letters to Yséult, which is based upon the story of
Tristan and Yséult. The performance uses dance, song,
poetry and escapology to tell the story as a one man show. Joel
Dean and Adam Ekin, who make up the theatre company Jamhed, were
joint winners of the prize for their production entitled
Journey to Karawane. Set in an enchanted woodland, the
show contains absurdity, beauty and freakishness, rhinoceroses,
cabbages and jam.
Juliet Forster, York Theatre Royal associate
director, said: “The multi-faceted performance skills of
Richard Wade stood out clearly as winning material, he has huge
potential as a solo artist, and his piece, Letters to
Yseult, is moving, lyrical, funny, inventive and playful.
However, we couldn’t resist the genius comic creation that is
Jamhed – aka Adam Ekin and Joel Dean – and their darkly humorous
surreal piece of nonsense Journey to Karawane, which pays
homage to the rich tradition of comedy acts we have in Britain, and
yet has its own unique flavour. So we decided to have joint prize
winners this year. Damian and I have really enjoyed mentoring them
as they develop their pieces, and we are looking forward to hosting
their work in the Studio on 8th October.”
Tickets for the winning double bill
performance are priced £5 and are available from the York Theatre
Royal box office on 01904 623 568 or http://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/
Picture shows: Rich Wade's Letters to
Yséult
For further press information please contact Louise
McKenzie, PR & Communications Officer on T: 01904 876466 or
E: l.mckenzie@yorksj.ac.uk
