Our next call for submissions will open in December 2025, and the winning plays will be performed during Windsor Fringe in the autumn of 2026 Watch this space!
05.10.24 Celeste Engel wins First Prize in the 2024 Windsor Fringe Kenneth Branagh International Award for New Drama Writing
L to R: Karen Darville Chair of Windsor Fringe, our judge Joan Lane (Executive producer of The King’s Speech), First Prize winner Celeste Engel, and our judge Abigail Morris (former Artistic Director and CEO of Soho Theatre). Photo by Adam Trewartha
We are delighted to announce Star Light in a Jar by Celeste Engel has been awarded First Prize in this year’s Windsor Fringe Drama Award for amateur playwrights. Celeste is the 20th writer to have won First Prize since the founding of the Drama Award in 2004.
The stellar playwright, director and cast of Star Light in a Jar, L to R: Daniel Keogh played Tristan, Celeste Engel wrote the script, Hannah Eidinow directed the play, and Lucy Anna Richardson took on the role of Stella. Photo by Adam Trewartha
Star Light in a Jar was one of our top three scripts this year, along with Die Trying by Niall McCarthy from Derry, and Troy by Andrew Crook from Sunningdale. All three finalists had their plays staged each night for three nights on October 3rd 4th and 5th at the Old Court Artspace as part of Windsor Fringe. The trio made for a cracking line up.
The Drama Award was developed to give amateur playwrights a chance to show what they can do in just one act to dramatise incidents or situations drawn from human experience. Between them, our playwrights presented a reunion between two long-separated friends (Starlight in a Jar), a dark comedy set in an Irish town (Die Trying), and an awkward revelation at a dinner party (Troy).
The playwright and cast of Troy, L to R: Rachel Gaffin played Sarah, Will Gillham took on the role of Troy, Windsor Chair Karen Darville presided over the evening, Andrew Crook wrote the play, Paul Croft took on the role of Michael, and Sarah Huntley played Wendy. Photo by Adam Trewartha
Die Trying L to R: Director Jack Medlin, the playwright Niall McCarthy, Eoin Sweeney who played Cal, and Matthew Blaney who played Cal. Photo by Adam Trewartha
After the submissions closing date in March and before the top nine plays were announced in June, our finalists’ scripts had made it through four elimination rounds. Known only by their titles and script numbers, the nine plays on the long list were forwarded to the judges, who selected the top three scripts, keeping secret the play they had chosen to be awarded First Prize. The judges’ decisions were based solely on the writing.
L to R: Die Trying Director Jack Medlin and playwright Niall McCarthy, with our judge Joan Lane and Star Light in a Jar playwright and First Prize winner Celeste Engel. Next is our judge Abigail Morris with and Hannah Eidinow, Director of Star Light in a Jar. Not in photo: Troy playwright Andrew Crook and Director Audrey O’Farrell. Photo by Adam Trewartha
After the final performance on October 5th, the judges presented their critiques of all three plays to a packed audience that included the writers with friends and family, directors and actors fresh off the stage, the Drama Team and backstage crew, as well as members of the public. There was a collective holding of breath as Karen Darville, Chair of Windsor Fringe, opened the judges’ sealed envelope and announced Celeste Engel as the 20th First Prize winner of the Drama Award. Celeste receives a framed certificate and a £500 cash prize.
L to R: Joan Lane, Cynthia Barlow Marrs, Catarina Silva, Jack Medlin, Emma D’Inverno, Niall McCarthy, Matthew Blaney, Celeste Engel, Eoin Sweeney, Daniel Keogh, Hannah Eidinow, Jan Trewartha, Lucy Anna Richardson, Will Gillham, Rachel Gaffin, Karen Darville, Sarah Huntley behind Karen, and Paul Croft, with Bob Simpson at far right. Not in photo: Andrew Crook, Audrey O’Farrell, Amy Utting, Bev Lillywhite and Julie Samuel. Photo by Adam Trewartha
And here we are on the night: our writers, judges, directors, actors and backstage crew with the Drama Team, minus a few who either couldn’t be there or who had to leave early.
It’s been a pivotal year for the Drama Award, with a new website, a new admin team and a renewed commitment to build on our 20-year track record. In two decades the Drama Award has attracted more than 4,000 submissions from writers in 49 countries, and many of our winners have gone on to succeed in theatre, film and television. Luminaries in the arts have been our judges over the years, among them our star supporter Sir Kenneth Branagh, who has generously served as our sponsor since 2010. Going forward, we aim to attract professional directors and actors at all stages of their careers to perform our finalists’ plays. This will be an important addition to our efforts to promote the writing of new plays and to bring them to new audiences.
Do scroll down to read excerpts from the judges’ critiques of this year’s plays.
A huge thank you to everyone who submitted scripts for this year’s Drama Award
Heartfelt thanks to our sponsors in 2024:
The Prince Philip Trust Fund, Darvilles of Windsor, Mail Boxes Etc Windsor, Waterstones Windsor, Laithwaites Windsor, Theatre Deli and Castle View Windsor Retirement Living.
Excerpts from the Judges’ critiques
Star Light in a Jar by Celeste Engel
Joan Lane: “A refreshing feel for the loss of youth and of the failure to follow one’s heart… An emotional depth in the writing that shines through is all too often lacking in short stories and plays.’
Abigail Morris: “A lyrical nature to the dialogue…created a poetic feel and some rich undertones … The piece was well structured and managed to convey young love, loss and grief in a short play which is a real triumph.”
Die Trying by Niall McCarthy
Joan Lane: “A neat, nicely rounded, well-plotted and well-written play, with great dialogue, good characterisation, and the opportunity for an amusing piece of entertainment.”
Abigail Morris: “A lovely grasp of the Irish vernacular, and used the lilt and the language beautifully. It really added to the richness of the play and gave it a delightful quality which was very immediate and real.”
Troy by Andrew Crook
Joan Lane: “A beautifully written domestic comedy and very funny — I laughed aloud. It veers towards contemporary commedia dell'arte. The well-drawn characters are so credible they could be neighbours or friends as they are developed through their witty, well observed dialogue.”
Abigail Morris: “The writer is very skilled and the humour is wonderful. It is an assured short play which has a strong narrative arc and neat characterisation.”
‘Our distinguished judges’ quotes
‘Judging the Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing remains an annual highlight, and I am thrilled to be participating once again. As in the past, the 2024 selection of plays has highlighted the ingenuity of writers from all over the world. The mastery of dialogue, of character building, of twists and turns, and unanticipated moments of suspense, have continued both to surprise and to delight. Another great year!’ — Joan Lane, Executive producer, The King’s Speech
‘I was delighted to be a judge of the Kenneth Branagh Awards this year. I really enjoyed reading the plays which showed a good range of dramaturgical skill as well as wit and originality. It made me feel very positive about the future of British theatre!’ — Abigail Morris, former CEO and Artistic Director of Soho Theatre
THE THREE FINALISTS
We are very excited to announce the three finalists:
Troy by Andrew Crook
Star Light in a Jar by Celeste Engel (Bournemouth)
Die Trying by Niall McCarthy (Derry)
Our distinguished judges for 2024 are
Joan Lane and Abigail Morris
The Finalists
Due to unforseen circumstances, the play Copernicus, Darwin and Freud Walk into a Bar has been withdrawn and replaced by Troy
Andrew Crook (Sunningdale) Troy
Andrew has been writing in earnest since 2012, alongside his day job in IT, first with British Airways and then the NHS.
In this time he’s had short plays performed in London at the Canal Cafe Theatre, the Union Theatre, Etcetera Theatre and The White Bear.
His plays Underground and The Ties that Bind were selected for and performed at the Chesil Theatre 10x10 Festival and the INK Festival, respectively.
His play Polite Conversation was performed during lockdown in an open-air theatre production at Lauderdale House in Waterlow Park in 2021.
Celeste Engel (Bournemouth) Star Light in a Jar
Celeste Engel studied Theatre and Drama at Australia’s La Trobe University. After emigrating to the UK, she obtained a Masters in Writing for the Media at Bournemouth University, her play SHINE BRIGHT was shortlisted for the the Kenneth Branagh Writing Prize in 2015 as was a project for the DOT award in 2018 as part of the New Media Writing Prize.
Celeste Engel teaches filmmaking at the Arts University Bournemouth, short courses. Her play Sweet Dreams was performed by Theatre West as a rehearsed online reading 2021 and extracts were later performed by Beyond Face Theatre Company at the Exeter Phoenix Theatre for scratch nights in 2022 & 2023, with Star Light in a Jar performed for a scratch night March 2024.
Niall McCarthy (Derry) Die Trying
My name is Niall McCarthy, I'm a writer/Stand up comedian from Derry currently living in London. My first full length run in London has been greenlit at Theatre503 for my play ‘Derry Boys’ for three weeks in May 2025. My first full length play script ‘Forbidden Fruit’ was optioned in 2023 and will be performed in June 2025 at the Cheltenham Playhouse. I've had short plays titled 'Parakeet', 'The Parting Glass', 'Glass Villas', 'Make Love Not Greenpeace' and 'Star Fish' performed in theatres in London, Newcastle and Bedford. In 2021 I was inducted onto the ‘Live Theatre Newcastle New Playwrights course’ and in 2023 I attended the ‘INK Festival Script Writing Course’ hosted by Greg Mosse. In April 2024 my play ‘Fatherland’ was performed at the INK festival. In March 2024 my short audio play ‘God Complex’ was selected for the UK International Radio Drama Festival.
The Directors
Jack Medlin Die Trying
Jack is a director, theatre maker and actor who trained in London before attending Cambridge University.
His production company Long Nights Productions had a recent sell out run of the show chaos, co-directed by Jack, and his debut short film ‘WILD ONE’ had been recognised in both national and international film festivals.
You can find Jack on Instagram @jackmedlin00 and X@jackmedlin3
Audrey O'Farrell Troy
Audrey is a London-based theatre director originally from Portland, Oregon. She recently completed an MA in Theatre Directing under Katie Mitchell at Royal Holloway University. Audrey's directing credits include a self-produced production of Stupid Fucking Bird, which was remounted at 21ten Theatre in Portland, and other works such as The Harvest, Tongue of a Bird, and Love and Information.
She has directed new plays like I'm a Slut, Sababba and devised the production The Ways We Cope. She has also assistant-directed at Portland's leading venue, Artist Repertory Theatre. Audrey earned her BA in Theatre from George Fox University, where she received a Meritorious Achievement Award for Directing and the departmental "Outstanding Student Award".
Her training includes Suzuki-Viewpoints with the Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble, and acting at the British American Drama Academy (BADA). She participated in the Third Rail Repertory Theatre Mentorship program in 2018, assisting with literary management.
Beyond directing, Audrey has self-produced works like The Harvest and Stupid Fucking Bird, earning a Regional Arts and Culture Grant (RAAC). She has taught Viewpoints Methodology at Bold Theatre and has technical experience in scenic construction, projection design, and stage management.
Hannah Eidinow Star Light in a Jar
Hannah trained at LAMDA and is an award-winning director including five Scotsman Fringe First Awards at the Edinburgh Festival. Her work has toured throughout the UK and abroad. Credits include:
Romeo and Juliet, Abrons Arts Centre, New York
Brits off-Broadway Season at 59E59 Theaters in New York
Love Them To Death by Max Dickins (Edinburgh Festival);
An Instinct for Kindness by Chris Larner (Fringe First Award; UK Tour; Trafalgar Studios; LitLive, the Mumbai LitFest;
Argus Angel Award; nominated for Best Solo Performance Whatsonstage Awards)
Somewhere Beneath it All, A Small Fire Burns Still by Dave Florez, performed by Phil Nichol (Fringe First Award)
Lockerbie: Unfinished Business by David Benson (Fringe First Award; UK Tour)
What I Heard About Iraq (Fringe First Award; UK Tour & Arts Theatre, West End)
Plays by Anthony Neilson, April de Angelis, Dave Florez, Lucy Kirkwood and Mike McShane in The Terror Season (Southwark Playhouse and Soho Theatre)
The Lady From The Sea, a new version by Frank McGuinness starring Lia Williams (Arcola, Sunday Times and Guardian Top Theatre Pick; BBC Radio 3 with Hugh Bonneville).
The Three Plays & Actors
Star Light in a Jar by Celeste Engel Directed by Hannah Eidinow
A woman reluctantly returns home after a prolonged absence for a reunion she doesn't want to attend. She is joined by an old friend she hasn't seen for years, he is convinced she has to attend the reunion for both of their sakes. Together they face the event that separated them
Actors
Lucy Anna Richardson 'Stella'
Lucy Anna Richardson (Instagram @lucyannarichardson) is delighted to be making her debut with the Windsor Fringe Kenneth Branagh Drama Award, taking on the role of Stella in Star Light in a Jar by Celeste Engel. Lucy began her professional career at the age of 18 when she was cast in Bridgerton Series 1. But she has been treading the boards in various roles in musicals since she was eight years old. For the last three years Lucy has been a series regular in the ITV and CBS crime drama ‘Professor T’, where she plays a young Adelaide, a younger version of the part played by the actor Frances De La Tour
Daniel Keogh 'Tristan'
Daniel Keogh (Instagram @danielmkeogh) is an artist and performer from Clones, Co. Monaghan, now based in London. Holding a degree in Psychology from Queen’s as well as an MA in Acting from Mountview, Daniel creates work deeply rooted in the inner psyche of their characters. Daniel's work centres on chronic illness, queerness, body image, isolation and mortality and hope. Their writing includes "In Pursuit of Repair”, a performance art piece and meditation on one's relationship to their body through a lifetime of chronic illness. Recent credits include Bea P. Deigh by Arden Winant (5 Stars - London Pub Theatres), Magic by Hugo Lau (4 stars - A Youngish Perspective), and The Power Of My Positive Self Belief Is Transforming My Life by Finn Burge, on Spotify/Apple Music. Daniel is incredibly excited to be part of the Windsor Fringe and delighted to get to bring a brand-new pie
Die Trying by Niall McCarthy Directed by Jack Medlin
A dark comedy set in an Irish town. Two old school friends who haven’t seen each other in years meet up for a drink. Their conversation starts with the usual catch-up but they soon begin talking about their childhood dreams, how life actually turned out to be, and life-changing decisions to be made
Actors
Matthey Blaney - Cal
Matthew Blaney is an actor, originally from Belfast, and has enjoyed a varied career in theatre, film and audio performance. Plays include Not Now (Finborough Theatre, London) The Lieutenant of Inishmore (The Michael Grandage Company, Gielgud Theatre, London) HIR (Park Theatre, London) Blackout (The Lyric, Belfast) and Under the Black Rock (The Arcola Theatre, London). Film includes Belfast (Focus Features/Netflix) as well as narration for the book Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (Amazon Audible). Matthew is a Spotlight Award and Offie Award (Lead Performance) Nominated Actor, next appearing in The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde due out next year.
Eoin Sweeney - Daniel
Eoin Sweeney (Instagram @eoinsweeney_) is a recent graduate of The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He most recently appeared in an extract of the one man show “the limit” also written by Niall McCarthy. His recent TV and film credits include Mercy Falls (2023) and the most recent season of FBI: International
Troy by Andrew Crook Directed by Audrey O'Farrell
Michael and Sarah attend their friend Wendy's dinner party. But this isn't your usual dinner party, as Wendy, recently separated, has a new partner and there is something very strange about him.
Actors
Paul Croft - Michael
Paul Croft is an actor and comedian, originally from Manchester. He has a background in live theatre, performing across the country in regional rep, and occasionally musical theatre. Recent appearances on film and TV include: Napoleon, The Sense of an Ending, Coronation Street’s 60th Anniversary, BBC Doctors; Commercials for Oatly, Lloyds Pharmacy, and ASDA’s Elf at Christmas. He has also performed for Secret Cinema in various immersive pieces across the world; Casino Royale, Empire Strikes Back, Dr Strangelove, Grand Budapest Hotel. A veteran of the long-running satirical sketch show, Newsrevue - he workshops online with Los Angeles Groundlings.
Sarah Huntley - Wendy
Sarah Huntley trained at Drama Centre London. Theatre includes: Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, Stratford East, A Bride Too Far, Northampton, European Tour, The Importance of Being Earnest, Peter Pan West End, Phillip Pullman’s Frankenstein, Polka Theatre and The Snow Queen, Kent Rep, The Rivals, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, La Rond, Hayfever, The Norman Conquest, Newpalm Productions, Write me a Murder, Don't Dress for Dinner, Bedroom Farce. TV includes Midsomer Murders, Wycliff, Casualty, EastEnders, The Seaside. Radio includes Bristow.
Rachel Gaffin - Sarah
Rachel Gaffin had a varied stage career before taking a longer than planned break to raise her two children. Recent work includes Second Temple at Riverside Studios, Pass Over Me (a monologue written for her for Elysium TC), a night of new short plays at The Gatehouse, various short films and the TV comedy Hapless. Rachel loves working on new writing, and is currently producing a night of short plays titled Joyfully Jewish for Tsitsit Fringe Festival in November, with a tour planned for next year – including, hopefully, Windsor Fringe, so look out for it!
Will Gillham - Troy
Will trained at Drama Studio London. He has performed in a variety of screen and theatre productions, including The Diplomat (Netflix), The War of the Worlds (The Pantaloons), Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers (Get Lost and Found), The Comedy of Errors (Petersfield Shakespeare Festival), The Millennials (Southwark Playhouse), and The Winter’s Tale (The Festival Players). He has also lent his voice to various audiobooks and video games. He is also a headshot and theatre photographer with Will Gillham Photography. Will is originally from East Sussex but is now based in Twickenham.
18.06.24 The Top Nine Scripts!
A Necessary End
Die Trying
Schrodinger
Seven Times
The Exit
The Gate
Copernicus, Darwin and Freud
Troy
Star Light in a Jar
04.06.24 The Top Twenty Scripts!
Die Trying
Seven Times
Troy
Copernicus, Darwin and Freud
Invisible
Candles
Pennies, Spectacles and Nevertheless
Strangers on a Train
Schrodinger
The Minstrel Boy
Treesitter
A Necessary End
Star Light in a Jar
The Tale of Setsumi and Her Beloved Nobu
Cassiopeia
The Exit
The Gate
Anne Sexton Had a Band
The Meltdown
Naked Truths
Script Submission Dates for 2024 are now closed. -------- Our next submission dates to be announced in December 2024
SCRIPT SUBMISSIONS, CRITERIA & INFORMATION ABOUT THE AWARDS
Amateur Playwrights worldwide are invited to submit a one-act play. Three winning scripts will be selected for fully staged performances during the Windsor Fringe Festival in October 2024. One of the three scripts will be chosen as the overall winner and awarded the £500 prize. The plays will be judged purely on the writing before they are staged.
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Only amateur playwrights are eligible and only one script per author will be accepted.
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Each script must be an original work and not previously published or performed.
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Each play to be up to 30 minutes in length.
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Each play to have a cast of no more than 6 actors.
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Each play must be suitable for staging in a studio theatre.
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One digital copy to be uploaded to the KBDA website as part of the submission process.
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Entry Fee is £15.