The BBC Award For Best New Play has gone to Vincent In Brixton by Nicholas Wright. Directed by Richard Eyre, the play had its world premiere at the National’s Cottesloe Theatre last May, before transferred to the Wyndham's. It is based on true facts of Vincent Van Gogh’s early life when he moved from the Netherlands to South London. The troubled artist was played by a young Dutch actor, Jochum ten Haaf, making his British stage debut.
Accepting the award, Nicholas Wright said: "There wasn't a day or a night when I didn't feel privileged and blessed to see my play so beautifully directed by Richard Eyre. The National for me is the most influential theatre and I'd like to wish Nick Hytner luck!"
Best New Comedy went to The Lieutenant Of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh. It enjoyed a sell-out run at the Barbican Pit before transferring to the Garrick Theatre. Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the black comedy focuses on the Mad Padraic, a terrorist who seeks retribution after his cat has been run over on the island of Inishmore.
In his acceptance speech, Martin McDonagh thanked Clash frontman Joe Strummer "for making me want to write in the first place."
In the category for Best New Play, Vincent In Brixton beat Jesus Hopped The ‘A’ Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis at the Donmar Warehouse; the new Tom Stoppard trilogy The Coast Of Utopia at the Olivier; and The York Realist by Peter Gill at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and the Strand.
The other contenders for Best New Comedy were Alan Ayckbourn’s Damsels In Distress – Roleplay at the Duchess; Dinner by Moira Buffini at The Loft; and Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan, which transferred from the Donmar Warehouse to the New Ambassadors.
