University playwright wins award ‘Down Under’

An award-winning playwright from Edge Hill University has scooped another accolade from ‘down under' for one of his productions.

Carl Caulfield, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, has won Best New Play at the 32^nd Annual CONDA Awards (City of Newcastle Drama Awards) in Australia for his brilliantly innovative Shakespeare's Fools.

The play explores the evolution of the ‘Fool' through the actors who helped create the original characters. Richard Tarlton, Will Kemp (who famously jigged all the way from London to Norwich circa 1600) and Robert Armin were the 16^th century's equivalent of our contemporary stand-up comics, as well as prima donnas with party pieces.

Carl beat off stiff competition to win the CONDA award, which recognises achievement in both professional and non-professional theatre.

Carl, who has spent his life in the theatre as an actor, director and playwright, with many prizes under his belt for his imaginative work, said "I'm delighted to have won this award and I'm pleased that my play has been officially recognised in such a competitive, creative industry."

"I'm hoping to explore the possibility of a UK production next year as Oberon Books in London are interested in publishing script.."

Carl himself spent more than 20 years in Australia where he taught drama and was a co-director, with his wife Felicity Biggins, of Stray Dogs Theatre Company before returning to the UK last year.

He has a long line of awards under his belt for his unique work and, more recently, had one of his productions shown in New York. Being Sellers - a 60-minute monologue about Peter Sellers to mark the 30^th anniversary of the actor's death - received such rave reviews in the industry that is was shown in New York during the festive season.