Middle Child artistic director, Paul Smith, has today been recognised for his “exceptional encouragement of theatre writing” with an Olwen Wymark Award.
The gongs are handed out every year by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), with the winners nominated by WGGB members.
Long-time Middle Child collaborator Luke Barnes, who has written All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, Weekend Rockstars and Ten Storey Love Song, nominated Paul.
Luke said: ”Paul Smith is the best thing to happen to me as a writer.
“When I was young Paul and I met, in Newcastle, and we talked about John McGrath and he mooted the idea of making work that talked about the biggest ideas as a good night out of theatre.
“This was the starting place for me finding my voice, my art, and my purpose.
“Paul is the most generous person I know in theatre”
“Not only has Paul shaped the way that I see the world and how I see theatre, he has also pushed me to think bigger than I ever would have given myself permission to.
“He has given me the self belief to know that, no matter what privileges I exercise, I can be useful to the communities and audiences I serve.
“He has taught me that the audience and the people that our buildings, organisations, and art, serve are bigger than us.
“He has given me confidence, activism, and artistry and continues to every time we collaborate.
“Paul is the most generous person I know in theatre, to artists, to communities, to audiences; and people like Paul go unnoticed and it’s my privilege to nominate him for this award and to see him win it.
“I hope he carries on inspiring writers for work for audiences and communities for decades to come and that as many people as possible benefit from knowing him like I have.”
“Working with writers to develop new plays is one of the best parts of my job”
The Olwen Wymark Awards are the brainchild of playwrights Mark Ravenhill and David James.
They were set up to give WGGB members the opportunity to publicly thank individuals, rather than institutions, who had given them exception encouragement in theatre writing during the past year.
They are named in honour of playwright Olwen Wymark, passionate supporter of WGGB and former chair of the WGGB Theatre Committee, who died in 2013.
Paul Smith said: “I’m really delighted to win this award as working with writers to develop new plays is one of the best parts of my job.
“Middle Child, a company I co-founded in 2011, exists to support, champion and showcase the work of brilliant playwrights.
“In my work as both a dramaturg and director I aim to put processes and practices in place to support writers to tell the best version of their story, and Luke’s nomination for this award feels like recognition of that approach.
“It’s been brilliant working with Luke to create good nights out with big ideas and his work has massively informed my own over the years.
“He is an incredible writer, person and friend and I simply wouldn’t be where I am in my career without him.
“I’d also like to express solidarity with all freelance writers in our industry at this difficult time, and can’t wait to get back to working collaboratively to bring plays to life soon.”
