The Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST) and the Octagon Theatre Bolton have today announced the 2024 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award Scheme winner. Tanuja Amarasuriya is the recipient of the coveted prize.
Two joint runners-up have also been announced, Hannah Stone and Jasmine Teo.
Now in its eighth year, the Award – which honours the memory of RTST co-founder, Sir Peter Hall – offers the winner their first-time opportunity to direct a fully realised, mid-scale production of a classic or modern play in a British regional theatre and to take it on tour. At the same time the Award delivers meaningful financial support to the participating regional theatres.
As the 2024 Award-winner, Tanuja Amarasuriya has won the opportunity to create a brand-new production on the main stage at the Octagon Theatre Bolton in a co-production with Mercury Theatre in Colchester and Rose Theatre in Kingston. The title will be announced soon. The production will open in September 2025 as part of the Octagon’s autumn season and then tour to Mercury Theatre and Rose Theatre.
Bristol-based director and dramaturg, Tanuja is the co-founder of the multi-artform company Sleepdogs and is a resident at Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio. She is currently staff director on the National Theatre’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Previous credits include Julius Caesar (Malcolm X Centre/ Bristol Old Vic Theatre School), Absolute Scenes (The Marble Factory/ Bristol Old Vic Theatre School) and the 2018 International Playwriting Prize-winning Out of Sorts (Theatre503).
The RTST will make a grant of £50,000 to support the costs of the production that will be directed by Tanuja.
The joint runners-up, Hannah Stone and Jasmine Teo, have won the opportunity to be mentored by the Octagon and the co-producing theatres.
The Award scheme promotes the RTST’s charitable objectives by supporting up-and-coming directors and British regional theatres. It is also intended to appeal to a wide range of candidates and to play a part in promoting diversity in the theatre, onstage, offstage and among audiences.
The winners and runners-up were selected at the end of a rigorous and competitive process judged by a distinguished panel comprising Chair, Lotte Wakeham (Artistic Director, Octagon Theatre Bolton), Ailin Conant (Artistic Director and Co-CEO, New Earth Theatre), Christopher Haydon (Artistic Director, Rose Theatre), Alex Jennings (actor), Iqbal Khan (director & Associate Director of Birmingham Rep), Emily Lim (Director of Public Acts, National Theatre), Tom Littler (Artistic Director, Orange Tree Theatre) and Natasha Rickman (newly appointed Artistic Director, Mercury Theatre).
2024 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award-winner Tanuja Amarasuriya commented: “I am totally thrilled to receive this award. There are so few opportunities for directors to step into mid-scale; so to have the backing of three great theatres across the UK to step up my career is a total game-changer for me. As someone who who didn't grow up around theatre, who didn't go to drama school and who has never lived in London, it's been a long path for me navigating the industry and building my artistic practice - and the RTST have been amazing allies for me over that journey. This year is the sixth application I made to the prize, but even in those "unsuccessful" years, the connections that the RTST enabled me to make have helped me grow and brought me work. I'm absolutely made up that the panel connected with me and my ideas this year, and I can't wait to kick it all off.”
RTST Chairman Sir Geoffrey Cass said: “The 2024 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award had 8 finalists of the very highest quality, selected from a strong field of some 50 candidates. The winner and joint runners-up were selected after an exacting test of their directing skills over a weekend of Directing Workshops in which they were observed directing actors, and then interviewed, twice, by our judging panel of highly experienced theatre practitioners. The winner’s prize is the exceptional opportunity to direct a mid-scale touring production to be originated on the main stage of The Octagon in Bolton. We are hugely grateful to The Octagon and its Artistic Director Lotte Wakeham and team; The Octagon’s co-producers, Mercury and Rose and their teams; the panellists; and the Workshop actors for their participation in the Award which fulfils the RTST’s twin primary charitable objectives of identifying and promoting the careers of brilliant up-and-coming directors and supporting British regional theatre. We warmly congratulate Tanuja Amarasuriya and the joint runners-up, Hannah Stone and Jasmine Teo”.
Director of the RTST Mark Hawes remarked: "We’re proud and delighted that our 2024 Award is the catalyst for Tanuja Amarasuriya's regional mid-scale directing debut at The Octagon, Bolton and on tour with Mercury and Rose. This will be the seventh regional mid-scale touring production, and the eighth regional production in total, to be catalysed by our RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award and production grant — again providing a career-transformative experience for the winning director, work for multiple theatre practitioners, and high-quality drama for audiences in different parts of the country. While there can only be one winner, the selection process has also given other hugely talented directors rare and valuable exposure to the influential theatre practitioners who served on the judging panel.”
Artistic Director of the Octagon Theatre Bolton Lotte Wakeham added: “The standard of all of the finalist candidates was incredibly high, but I’m delighted that the panel has chosen Tanuja as the overall winner of this prestigious award. Tanuja really impressed the panel with her detailed application and her impressive CV of studio-scale work. We were particularly taken with her thoughtfulness and ingenuity in approaching classic texts in an innovative and fresh way for modern audiences. I have no doubt that she will direct an exceptional midscale production for us in autumn 2025, and I’m hugely excited to work with her. I’m also really pleased that we have identified two incredibly talented runners up – Hannah Stone and Jasmine Teo – both of whom really impressed the panel with their directing skills and brilliant ideas.”
For further details of the Award, please visit the RTST’s website: rtst.org.uk.
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