Williams Wins Whiting Award for Starstruck

Playwright Roy Williams has won the 31st annual John Whiting Award for new theatre writing for his play Starstruck, which was commissioned by the Theatre Royal Stratford East and presented last summer at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn, north London.

Starstruck is set in the 1960s in Kingston, Jamaica, and deals with the complications of family relationships. The title derives from the mother's infatuation with Hollywood film star, Stewart Grainger. Starstruck is the fifth play by Williams, who worked as an actor before turning to writing full-time in 1990. His other plays are The No Boys Cricket Club, Josie's Boys, Night & Day and Lift Off. Starstruck and The No Boys Cricket Club will both be published by Methuen next month.

The John Whiting Award is administered by the Arts Council, in commemoration of the playwright John Whiting and his contribution to post-war British theatre. It's awarded to the writer of a new play which demonstrates a distinctive development in dramatic writing which is particularly relevant to contemporary society.

Previous winners of the John Whiting Award include Tom Stoppard, Howard Brenton, David Edgar, Helen Edmundson and Jonathan Harvey. Williams was presented with a cheque for £6,000 from the Arts Council of England.

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