Final Fringe Firsts for Primadoona, Lidless, Bunny

The third and final round of winners in this year’s Fringe First Awards, a prize dedicated to celebrating new drama at the Edinburgh Fringe, have been announced by The Scotsman newspaper today (27 August 2010). Amongst the five winners this week are two one woman shows, Primadoona at the Gilded Balloon and the Underbelly’s Bunny.

Comedienne Doon MacKichan, one of the writers and stars of Channel 4’s Smack the Pony, wins for her one woman show, Primadoona about enduring bereavement, divorce and her 11-year-old son’s battle with leukaemia. The frantically paced show highlights the actresses incredible range, with The Scotsman‘s Fiona Shepherd saying her “self-mocking but sympathetic portrayal of her harassed, frustrated state is spot on.”

Jack Thorne‘s Bunny, an exhilarating 60-minute monologue which tells the story of troubled teenager Katie and her experiences whilst coming of age, is awarded the prize, with The Scotsman‘s Joyce McMillan noting: “What’s terrifying about Katie is the extend to which her outwardly nice, liberal upbringing seems to have left her so damaged that she is unable to resist the abusive behaviour of the men she meets.”

Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre adds another Fringe First to its haul this August, having been awarded three last week and three the week before, with a win for Flesh and Blood and Fish and Fowl, an environmental satire presented by New York’s Barrow Street Theatre.

In this week’s third round of prizes, Fringe Firsts were also awarded to Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s Lidless, an analysis of the moral legacy of America’s foreign policy performed at the Underbelly Pasture, and Another Someone by RashDash and presented at the Bedlam. A dance and physical theatre piece, it turns the traditional love triangle on its head, making audiences question definitions of happiness.

The Fringe First Awards were established in 1973 when there was concern that the Fringe was not attracting the right quantity and quality of shows. There is no fixed number of the prize awarded and the only requirement is that the work must be new – having had no more than six performances in the UK, prior to the Fringe.

The awards are announced weekly during the festival, with the final round winners being announced and an award show being held at Assembly @ Princes Street Gardens today (27 August 2010). The award show will feature performances from Musical Theatre Matters: UK Award winning musicals Zambezi Express, Fresher: The Musical and Five Guys Named Moe as well as excerpts from Bear Trap Theatre Company’s Bound and Ali McGregor’s Jazz Cigarette.