January 2018
John has won an Olwen Wymark Award, the Writers' Guild Of Great Britain's award for the encouragement of new writing.
Nominated by WGGB member Zena Forster for his continued mentorship, and support in developing her first original stage play The Fourth Dog.
Zena Forster said: “I first met John at a scratch night at the Old Fire Station in Oxford where I was trying out a scene from a work in progress. I had written adaptations for Radio 3 and 4 but this was my first piece for the stage. John liked my writing and encouraged me to send him some of my work. Since then, he has become a wonderful mentor to me, helping me transform my rather rambling script of Antigona and Me, and directing the piece for last year’s Offbeat festival and again last year in a staged reading at the National Theatre (for which he received no fee).
“John is a writer’s director and the insights and guidance he gave me – during script development and rehearsals – have taught me a huge amount and facilitated professional productions of my work. He is well-known for his commitment to new writers, but the time and energy he has invested in me this past year demonstrates his remarkable passion for theatre and new playwrights.
“In the past year, he has given freely of his time and experience and helped me develop my first original stage play, The Fourth Dog. He has been with me at every stage, read countless drafts, devoted whole mornings to script meetings and offered to act as a dramaturg for Human Story Theatre’s production of the play, again without a fee. I’m in no doubt that without his support, The Fourth Dog would not have enjoyed the popular or critical success that it has. Indeed, without John’s generosity, experience and insights, the professional production of this play would never have happened.”
You can find out more about the awards on the Writers' Guild website