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First-time writer wins prestigious 主播大秀 Radio Drama award
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Mark Shand, a first-time writer from Rochdale, is the winner of the eighth
biennial Alfred Bradley Bursary Award with his play Abigail Adams.
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Shortly
after going part-time to concentrate on his writing, Mark spotted a notice
about the award on the 主播大秀 writersroom website.
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This is the first full length
play he has written and it will be broadcast on 主播大秀 Radio 4.
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The award - open to North of England-based writers who may have already had a small
amount of work published or produced but have not had a 主播大秀 Radio Drama
commission - is one of the most prestigious and generous awards for dramatists
in the country.
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The judges were tv and radio writer Sally Wainwright (At 主播大秀 With The
Braithwaites, The Wife Of Bath); playwright Simon Stephens; actress Julie
Hesmondhalgh; Jeremy Howe, Commissioning Editor, Radio 4; Kate Rowland,
主播大秀 Creative Director, New Writing; and Sue Roberts, 主播大秀 Executive Producer,
Drama North.
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They selected Abigail Adams from more than 370 entries.
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Jeremy Howe, judge and Commissioning Editor, said: "Drama on Radio 4 has launched the careers of hundreds of writers - it is a
part of what we do and we are very proud of our track record: in the last year
we have commissioned over 20 first time writers for the Afternoon Play alone.
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"We are delighted to be premiering Mark Shand's delightful, witty, life
affirming play Abigail Adams on the network. He is a writer to watch, I'm sure
the kind of writer Alfred Bradley himself would have championed."
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Mark's play tells the tale of Abigail Adams, a misfit teenager who, as she
falls from the top of her apartment block, contemplates why she's turned out
how she has - from her beloved linen suit and red trainers to her penchant for
strong tea.
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But with parents like hers, paranoid she will turn out like them,
there's no wonder she's turned out "special".
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In addition to the bursary of 拢1,000 and his play being broadcast on national
radio, Mark, 33, will also be given the opportunity to develop further ideas
into future commissions.
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Mark said: "It was pretty amazing, I'd just given up full time work to
concentrate on writing and this was the first full length play I'd done."
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The award, established to commemorate the life and work of 主播大秀 radio producer
Alfred Bradley, is unique in its dedication to encouraging writing for radio
drama.
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Mark Shand is originally from Rochdale and recently completed a diploma in
Writing for Performance from the University of Bristol.
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The runners-up of this year's award are The Votes Are In by Andrew Turner,
Cobwebs by David Hodgson and James And Jack by Mark Griffiths.
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All three are
awarded a 拢1,000 bursary.
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In addition, Oh Bondage, Up Yours by Boff Whalley and
Fifteen by Deborah Wain are both awarded 拢500.
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For the first year all of these
writers will be mentored in the Radio Drama Department.
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Justine Potter,
Development Producer, says: "The Alfred Bradley Bursary Award has been a real success this year. We
promised the judges a shortlist of five plays, but we just couldn't narrow it down
and so they received the top 13.
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"The judges agreed that all 13 writers should
be considered for future Radio Drama commissions and they are now all busily
pitching.
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"Radio 4 has launched the careers of so many, many writers we
recognise as national treasures today - what a fitting tribute to Alfred
Bradley that new talent continues to thrive in his name as across the 主播大秀."
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Notes to Editors
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Previous winners include Lee Hall, who won in 1994 with I Luv You Jimmy Spud.
He went on to write the critically-acclaimed Spoonface Steinberg for 主播大秀 Radio
and the Golden Globe winning film, Billy Elliot.
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Peter Straughan, 1998 winner, wrote The Ghost Of Frederico Garcia Lorca Which
Can Also Be Used As A Table, broadcast on 主播大秀 Radio 3. His Radio 4 commissions
include When We Were Queens in 2000, adapted from his own stage play; his
adaptation of Andrew Motion's book Wainewright The Poisoner; and Centurions,
which he co-wrote with Bridget O'Connor for Woman's Hour.
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Alfred Bradley (1925-1991)
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Alfred Bradley joined the 主播大秀 in 1959 as a radio producer in Leeds, moving to
Manchester in 1971.
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His work with the 主播大秀 over 24 years was widely recognised
as outstanding and he won many awards.
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Alfred set out to enhance the drama tradition of the North, broadcasting the
work of the region's writers and actors to national audiences.
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Among the
dramatists he helped to launch during his career were Alan Plater, Keith
Waterhouse, Alan Ayckbourn, Stan Barstow and Alun Owen.
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