(Steven McElroy’s article appeared in The New York Times, 8/23; via Pam Green.)
“Mouthpiece” by Kieran Hurley won $25,000 to fund a transfer from the Edinburgh Fringe to New York.
“Mouthpiece,” a two-character play by the Scottish playwright and performer Kieran Hurley, won the 2019 Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award, the prize’s organizers announced on Friday. The award, presented annually by the Carol Tambor Theatrical Foundation, is to support a New York transfer for a production from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Mr. Hurley’s play explores the complex relationship between two people of different socioeconomic classes: Libby, a struggling 40-year-old playwright, and Declan, a troubled teenager. By having Libby attempt to dramatize aspects of Declan’s difficult life — to be his mouthpiece — Mr. Hurley wrestles with questions of cultural appropriation and exploitation.
The play — which had its premiere at the Traverse Theater in 2018, is being reprised at the Fringe this summer, again produced by the Traverse and directed by Orla O’Loughlin, with Katherine Nesbitt as associate director, but with a different cast (Shauna Macdonald and Angus Taylor).
Mr. Hurley will receive a $25,000 grant — $5,000 to be awarded immediately with no restrictions, and the rest contingent on supporting a production of the show in New York.
Photo: The Stage
