In conjunction with the Scottish Arts Club, EdinburghGuide.com announces that Catherine Wheel’s One Thousand Paper Cranes is the winner of our inaugural award for the Best Scottish Contribution to Drama on the Fringe.
A special sculpture, created by Edinburgh sculptor Duncan Robertson, will be presented to One Thousand Paper Cranes at a formal awards ceremony and party at the Scottish Arts Club on Sunday 28 August, between 18:00 and 20:00.
The winning play, by Abigail Doherty, is based on the true story of two young Japanese survivors of the Hiroshima bomb who try to earn a wish by making 1,000 paper cranes.
This is a short review by one of the Judges of One Thousand Paper Cranes:
A two hander with a good, taut script in which not a word was wasted. The performances were thoroughly, engaging, and on a number of levels, very moving.
It was a wonderful study of friendship with some entertaining and perceptive characterizations on the side. The actress playing the ambitious athlete, crippled in her prime by nuclear fallout, doubled magnificently as the paper crane making hospital orderly, her colleague striking just the right note as a matron and the stricken athlete's Mother.
Production of the first seven cranes had the audience enraptured, to be followed thrillingly by the strewing and garlanding of the stage with multi-coloured cranes, all crying and to save and celebrate life. The search throughout the auditorium for more paper to help to achieve the craved 1000 was as fun as it was enchanting.
This short show is truly original and of the shortlisted shows that I have seen, is the clear winner.
John Scott Moncrieff, lawyer and ex-Chairman of the Traverse
One Thousand Paper Cranes is showing at Assembly @ George Square every day until Saturday 27th at 1.10pm.
The first runner-up was Mark Ravenhill’s Ten Plagues playing at The Traverse theatre.
The second runner-up was Gerda Stevenson’s Federer Versus Murray at Assembly.
Any production with a Scottish director, writer, cast, or a Scottish based theatre company was eligible for the award.
The five judges were Catherine Robins, Astrid Silins, Joyce Caplan, Rachael Clerke and John Scott Moncrieff.The award was presented by one of the founders of the Traverse Theatre Jim Haynes.
For more information see www.edinburghguide.com/about/scottishartsclubaward