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| Paralympians' story staged in Newcastle as the Games are held | Paralympians' story staged in Newcastle as the Games are held |
| (7 months later) | |
| Newcastle's Live Theatre is staging an appropriate tribute to the coming Paralympic Games, reminding us of the grit and zest which have taken the athletes to the levels of sport which we are about to enjoy. | Newcastle's Live Theatre is staging an appropriate tribute to the coming Paralympic Games, reminding us of the grit and zest which have taken the athletes to the levels of sport which we are about to enjoy. |
| The play The Prize, written by Steve Gilroy and Richard Stockwell and based on interviews with 30 Paralympians and Olympians at the top of their game, returns to the theatre this Wednesday 29 August and runs until the Paralympics finish on 8 September. Those who took part, and are now about to competing down in London, include Tyneside's own club thrower Stephen Miller, power lifter Ali Jawad, wheelchair fencer Simon Wilson and rower Nick Beighton. | The play The Prize, written by Steve Gilroy and Richard Stockwell and based on interviews with 30 Paralympians and Olympians at the top of their game, returns to the theatre this Wednesday 29 August and runs until the Paralympics finish on 8 September. Those who took part, and are now about to competing down in London, include Tyneside's own club thrower Stephen Miller, power lifter Ali Jawad, wheelchair fencer Simon Wilson and rower Nick Beighton. |
| The play also features stars of the London Olympics including the gold-medal winner Kat Copeland from Teesside whose gold in the women's lightweight double sculls with her rowing partner Sophie Hosking provided a memorable image of astonished delight. Other Olympians are Freya Murray, from just over the Scottish border, who was the first Team GB member to cross the line in the Marathon after selection only after Paula Radcliffe dropped out due to injury; and Jessica Eddie, who rowed in the women's eight where GB came fifth. | The play also features stars of the London Olympics including the gold-medal winner Kat Copeland from Teesside whose gold in the women's lightweight double sculls with her rowing partner Sophie Hosking provided a memorable image of astonished delight. Other Olympians are Freya Murray, from just over the Scottish border, who was the first Team GB member to cross the line in the Marathon after selection only after Paula Radcliffe dropped out due to injury; and Jessica Eddie, who rowed in the women's eight where GB came fifth. |
| The Prize had a successful run at the Underbelly in Bristo Square during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it closed on Sunday night after gaining plaudits such as the Guardian's own view that it includes 'electrifying moments' which | The Prize had a successful run at the Underbelly in Bristo Square during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it closed on Sunday night after gaining plaudits such as the Guardian's own view that it includes 'electrifying moments' which |
| offer plenty of insights into the passions and also the cruelties of sport. | offer plenty of insights into the passions and also the cruelties of sport. |
The List reckons it to be | The List reckons it to be |
| the most mature and unproblematic handling of disability, gender and race I've seen on a UK stage… and that alone is medal-worthy | the most mature and unproblematic handling of disability, gender and race I've seen on a UK stage… and that alone is medal-worthy |
while the Daily Telegraph concludes: | while the Daily Telegraph concludes: |
| tear-jerkingly inspiring..worthwhile examination of the many personal triumphs that lie behind all the Olympic medal-winning. | tear-jerkingly inspiring..worthwhile examination of the many personal triumphs that lie behind all the Olympic medal-winning. |
Steve Gilroy, who also directs, says: | Steve Gilroy, who also directs, says: |
| Richard and I spent the last two years interviewing the athletes to discover the personal journeys and stories that led them to compete in the world's greatest competition. Because the play coincides with the Olympics and Paralympics, some of these stories are completing as the show is running. Although all of our featured Olympic athletes have now competed in their events we can't wait to cheer along our Paralympians in September. | Richard and I spent the last two years interviewing the athletes to discover the personal journeys and stories that led them to compete in the world's greatest competition. Because the play coincides with the Olympics and Paralympics, some of these stories are completing as the show is running. Although all of our featured Olympic athletes have now competed in their events we can't wait to cheer along our Paralympians in September. |
Depending on how things go for Miller, Jawad and Co., maybe the audiences will add a new twist to interactive theatre by joining in. | Depending on how things go for Miller, Jawad and Co., maybe the audiences will add a new twist to interactive theatre by joining in. |
| Gilroy also describes how north easterners have helped athletes from elsewhere in the world: | Gilroy also describes how north easterners have helped athletes from elsewhere in the world: |
| One example in the play is wheelchair sprinter Anne Wafula Strike who was born in Kenya where she contracted polio. The villagers thought she was bewitched and wanted to kill her so her father took her to the city where she was caught up in a violent coup. Later she met Norman Strike, a former Tyneside miner who was teaching in Kenya, and they went on to marry. They returned to England and Anne went on to represent Kenya in Athens in 2004 and is currently preparing to represent Great Britain in the London 2012 Games. | One example in the play is wheelchair sprinter Anne Wafula Strike who was born in Kenya where she contracted polio. The villagers thought she was bewitched and wanted to kill her so her father took her to the city where she was caught up in a violent coup. Later she met Norman Strike, a former Tyneside miner who was teaching in Kenya, and they went on to marry. They returned to England and Anne went on to represent Kenya in Athens in 2004 and is currently preparing to represent Great Britain in the London 2012 Games. |
| Alison Clark-Jenkins, the north east's regional director for Arts Council England, underlines how Live Theatre plays its own part in encouraging excellence and determination elsewhere: | Alison Clark-Jenkins, the north east's regional director for Arts Council England, underlines how Live Theatre plays its own part in encouraging excellence and determination elsewhere: |
| It's great to see The Prize return to Live Theatre just in time for the Paralympic Games. Live Theatre is a valuable outlet for new writing in the north east and I'm pleased the production was supported through the Arts Council's Grants for the arts scheme. The fact that some of the athletes featured, including Teesside's own Katherine Copeland, have gone on to win medals for us this summer, gives the production all the more relevance today. The play blends sporting endeavour with artistic achievement, capturing the spirit of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. | It's great to see The Prize return to Live Theatre just in time for the Paralympic Games. Live Theatre is a valuable outlet for new writing in the north east and I'm pleased the production was supported through the Arts Council's Grants for the arts scheme. The fact that some of the athletes featured, including Teesside's own Katherine Copeland, have gone on to win medals for us this summer, gives the production all the more relevance today. The play blends sporting endeavour with artistic achievement, capturing the spirit of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. |
The cast assembled by the new company Murmur, which is based at Live Theatre, includes Chris Connel - Close The Coalhouse Door, The Pitmen Painters, Nativities – Helen Embleton from Motherland and Seroca Davis who has appeared in Dr Who and That Mitchell and Webb Look. On Saturday, there's a free'Meet the Team' event at 4pm when some of the athletes will join the writers, stagers and cast to talk about the play. | The cast assembled by the new company Murmur, which is based at Live Theatre, includes Chris Connel - Close The Coalhouse Door, The Pitmen Painters, Nativities – Helen Embleton from Motherland and Seroca Davis who has appeared in Dr Who and That Mitchell and Webb Look. On Saturday, there's a free'Meet the Team' event at 4pm when some of the athletes will join the writers, stagers and cast to talk about the play. |
| You can get tickets online here or from the Live Theatre box office on 0191 232 1232. | You can get tickets online here or from the Live Theatre box office on 0191 232 1232. |
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