Theatre News

EIF Prize Wins for Bissett’s Roadkill & Meow Meow

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6 September 2010

Two contrasting pieces have been awarded this year’s Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Prize. The honour, which is given to the most innovative artists appearing at the Fringe, takes the form of an invitation to present a work in development as part of the Edinburgh International Festival’s Behind the Scenes programme in 2011.

Roadkill, Cora Bissett‘s play about the experiences of young women trafficked to Scotland, presented by Ankur & Pachamama Productions in association with the Traverse and Meow Meow, kamikaze cabaret kitsch and performance art exotica presented by Kay & McLean Productions and Meow Meow Revolution, were both awarded the prize.

They each receive £5,000 in seed funding, mentoring from established Festival artists and the opportunity to perform as part of the EIF’s Behind the Scenes programme which provides a platform for companies developing new work with an opportunity for feedback from an audience.

The award is the seventh for Cora Bissett’s production, with her immersive, site-specific play having also won a Total Theatre Award, Herald Angel and a Fringe First. Meow Meow, and its Australian creator Melissa Madden Gray, was previously featured in the Olivier award-winning La Clique.

Now in its fourth year, the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Prize was awarded by festival director Jonathan Mills based on the recommendations of a panel of judges. The panel this year included Fergus Linehan, artistic associate at EIF and head of contemporary music at Sydney Opera House; Catherine Lockerbie, former director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and Sally Hobson, head of programme development at EIF.

Speaking about the awards Sally Hobson said: “From a diverse and fascinating range of productions, our judging panel chose Meow Meow and Roadkill for their potential. The panel acknowledged that both winners have unique qualities that could benefit from the award process and look forward to seeing their Behind the Scenes presentations in 2011.”