Theatre shows scoop new Fringe acclodade

Two theatre shows have won the inaugural David Johnson Emerging Talent Award handed out in honour of the late comedy and stage producer.

They are and An Audience With Milly Liu by François Pandolfo and Eve: All About Her by Keith Ramsay.

Both receive the full £11,000 – but there will now be no award next year.

Journalist Helen Hawkins, who led the team of scouts said of Eve: All About Her: ‘An extraordinary feat of both writing and acting, Keith Ramsay’s Eve is an uncategorisable piece of theatre, a fever dream rather than a narrative.

’It’s as if he’s thrown Hollywood’s great icons into a blender with a dash of everything from Shakespeare and Dante to Marianne Faithfull, then pressed Pulse. He delivered the resulting stream of consciousness with a blazing and unforgettable intensity.’

John Mackay, David’s long-term business partner, said An Audience with Milly Liu was ‘written and skilfully performed with a genuine sense of danger by François Pandolfo…  the sort of quintessential not-for-everyone Fringe experience that David would have loved - bonkers and filthy yet oddly moving.’

The trophies were designed and hand-made by Simon Munnery – and any Edinburgh Fringe show in any genre was eligible.

The prize money was donated by David’s friends, family, and colleagues via crowdfunding after his death

Published: 28 Aug 2022