theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
prize given annually at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
.
History
The Award has presented by the Carol Tambor Theatrical Foundation since 2004. In a formal agreement with the Fringe Society, it will be given in perpetuity.
Rules
All productions which receive a four or five star review in ''
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'' newspaper and have not previously been presented in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
are eligible for the prize.
The winner is announced at The Scotsman's final Fringe First Award ceremony, which is held on the final Friday morning of the Festival Fringe. The winner receives a four-week run at an
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
Theater in New York, all expenses paid, including: visa expenses; transportation for cast, crew and props; hotel for cast and crew; per diems; guaranteed stipend; and net box office receipts.
The run in New York coincides with the
Association of Performing Arts Presenters
The Association of Performing Arts Professionals (previously the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, also known as APAP), based in Washington, D.C.,
convention each January for additional exposure and opportunity for transfers to other theaters. The Foundation takes no commercial interest in the future of the production.
Prizewinners
The previous winners are:
* 2004: ''Sisters, Such Devoted Sisters'' by Russell Barr; and ''Rosebud'' by Mark Jenkins
* 2005: ''Absence and Presence'' by Andrew Dawson
* 2006: ''Goodness'' by
Michael Redhill
Michael Redhill (born 12 June 1966) is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.1927
* 2008: ''Eight'' by
Ella Hickson
Ella Hickson (born 1985) is a British playwright and theatrical director, living in London.
Early life
Hickson was brought up in Guildford in Surrey and educated at Guildford High School from 1996 to 2003.
Career
Hickson's first play, '' E ...
'' by Elaine Murphy
* 2010: ''Ovid's Metamorphoses'', by Pants on Fire
* 2011: ''Leo'', by Circle of Eleven
* 2012: ''Mies Julie'' by
Yaël Farber
Yaël Farber is a South African director and playwright.
Early life
Farber was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1971.
Books
''Molora'' was published by Oberon Books in 2008 . Genre drama. Farber wrote the book as an Ancient Greek type ...
; ''Midsummer'' by David Greig
* 2013: ''The Events'' by David Greig
* 2014: ''Object Lesson'', by Geoff Sobelle
* 2015: ''Key Change'' by Catrina McHugh
* 2016: ''Life According to Saki'' by
Katherine Rundell
Katherine Rundell (born 1987) is an English author and academic. She is the author of ''Rooftoppers'', which in 2015 won both the overall Waterstones Children's Book Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Story, and was short-listed for t ...
*2017: ''The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk'' by Kneehigh; ''Borders'' by
Henry Naylor
Henry James Naylor (born 19 January 1966) is a British comedy writer, director and performer. He is also a playwright.
Early life
Naylor read history and history of art at Downing College, Cambridge.
Career
Naylor was head writer for '' Spi ...
*2018: ''Ulster American'' by David Ireland
*2019: ''Mouthpiece'' by Keiran Hurley
**Shortlisted: ''Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show'' by White Room Theatre; ''Burgerz'' by performance Travis Alabanza; ''Dispatches on the Red Dress'' by
Rowan Rheingans
Lady Maisery are an English folk vocal harmony trio composed of Hannah James (vocals, piano accordion, clogs, foot percussion), Hazel Askew (vocals, melodeon, concertina, harp, bells) and Rowan Rheingans (vocals, fiddle, banjo, bansit ...