Playwright Fionnuala Kennedy has won the Writers’ Guild of Ireland ZeBBie Award for “Best Theatre Script” 2020, for her play, “Removed”.
The 13th Annual ZeBBie Awards which were hosted online this year were voted for by members of the Guild and recognise the best scripts for radio, stage and screen that were written and produced in 2019.
The Theatre nominees this year all came from Northern Ireland and included, “The Alternative” by Michael Patrick & Oisín Kearney, “A Queer Céilí at the Marty Forsythe” by Dominic Montague, and “Removed” by Fionnuala Kennedy.
As the awards could not be hosted in person, they were streamed online, and the Guild decided that a representative of each winning show would break the news to the winners during a set-up interview. Conor O’Donnell, the star of “Removed”, delivered the news to Fionnuala that she had won the award, much to her surprise! Fionnuala’s win came alongside a Television win by Lisa McGee for “Derry Girls”.
“Removed”, a theatre play by Prime Cut Productions, tells the story of Adam, a young person who has grown up in the Northern Irish Social Care system. Funny, affecting and hard hitting, “Removed” has become an award-winning and sell-out show. Actor, Conor O’Donnell delivers an intimate monologue offering a glimpse into the experiences of growing up as a ‘looked after’ child in the care system.
“Removed” is not based on any one individual, but rather an amalgamation of the many interviews gathered by Fionnuala in collaboration with Voice of Young People In Care (VOYPIC). A group of young people with care experience shared their personal stories with the playwright.
Describing the process of writing “Removed”, Fionnuala said: “Going into the interviews, my knowledge of the care system was really limited. Your ideas are informed by things you’ve overheard or assume. So we just started from the beginning: when young people are taken into care-that day or night or moment when you’re removed from the familiar and brought into a system where things are decided for you.”
On winning the ZeBBie, Fionnuala said: “I was completely shocked but so delighted to win. We started small with Removed and I never expected it to get so big! I think it connects with audiences because of its authenticity; it’s not just young people seeing it, but foster parents and social care staff. I am really proud that we have showcased it to audiences across UK, Ireland, Philadelphia, Oslo and Montenegro.”
Due to the pandemic, live performances are on hold, however Removed has been performed virtually throughout lockdown. For more information about Removed and upcoming performance dates visit: https://www.primecutproductions.co.uk/removed
