It’s so hard for any aspiring writers to become visible so to hear of competitions which might bring that about is exciting, and something to drive towards. At the very least you reach a deadline and to win is even better.

It is the inaugural year of The Mercury Playwriting Prize and one might expect entry numbers to be low, but not a bit of it: over 160 entries were received.

It has been announced that Oliver Bennett is the winner with  Europe After the Rain, a noir, surreal exploration of the world we live in now. It offers up a mirror to the concerns of contemporary Britain: immigration, enfranchisement, globalisation, loss and love.

The runners-up are Berri George for her play Shadow Kingdoms, and Phil Tong for his play The Furrow. Entries from University of Essex students were simultaneously entered for the student prize of £200, and this year’s winner is Ryan Cogman for his play Floodgate.

So who is Oliver Bennett? Oliver Bennett trained as an actor at RADA, and has collaborated with the Belarus Free Theatre, whose work he has found inspirational. He has worked frequently with Howard Barker, Edward Bond, performing at Southwark Playhouse, Arcola, The Print Room, and in ‘Backbeat’ in the West End, Canada and LA.

Dan Sherer (Associate for New Work and one of the Mercury Playwriting Prize judges) said:

“Europe After The Rain is a tremendous script – a worthy winner of the Mercury Playwriting Prize 2017 Oliver Bennett has written something timely, beautifully layered, and highly theatrical. We are delighted to be able to work with Oliver over the coming year as an Associate Artist, as part of our absolute commitment to nurturing new work and emerging artists at The Mercury Theatre.”

Berri George is a writer and a performer, and graduate of both the Belgrade Theatre’s Critical Mass and The Royal Court Theatre invitation playwriting schemes. She is 2014 alumni for the Orange Tree Theatre’s invitation writers group, and made the Old Vic 12 shortlist for 2016. Her work has been staged by a range of the UK’s leading new writing venues; Manchester Royal Exchange, Bolton Octagon Theatre, Theatre 503, High Tide, The Space, Talawa, Old Red Lion, and the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Phil Tong was Director of Drama at the City of London Freemen’s School until 2014, at which point he made a decision to stop teaching and to concentrate full time on his work as a playwright. He has had nine plays premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe since 2000 and his plays for young people’s theatre are published on Treepress. His work has also been performed in London, Paris and Milan.

Artistic Director Daniel Buckroyd  said:

“The Mercury is committed to supporting emerging artists and providing a platform on which upcoming theatre-makers can develop their work, and so it’s been fantastic to see just how many writers have engaged with this opportunity and the sheer quality of this year’s entries. Our upcoming New Talent Festival is a real showcase of the many skilled artists working in our region, and I would encourage anyone with a passion for new theatre to come along. You won’t be disappointed.”

Prize-winner  Oliver Bennett will receive £2000, a year-long attachment to The Mercury Theatre  Colchester as an Associate Artist, and will be supported to stage a production of his winning play in the Mercury’s Studio Theatre. Local residents can hear rehearsed readings of Bennett, George, Tong and Cogman’s plays, as well as last year’s Essex Playwriting Competition winner – Kenny Emson’s The Piscator – as part of our 2017 New Talent Festival.

Bravo! We need more of the competitions.

Tickets for the rehearsed readings are free but must be booked in advance.

For more information about this work, or other Make It opportunities, visit: www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/make-it

Or call 01206 573948.

Audrey Reimann has woven a very readable saga about life in Scotland and Canada before and after the Second World War. Following the discovery of Sir Gordon Campbell’s drowned body the story unfolds.

Orphaned Flora MacDonald escapes from the cruel reform school she has been sent to. Her future seems set to change when she meets Andrew Stewart on shore leave from the Royal Navy. At last happiness seems set for Flora and Andrew only to be taken away by the outbreak of war.

Pregnant and desperate for help Flora travels to Andrew’s home, Ingersley House. Unfortunately, Flora is met by Ruth, a scheming and selfish woman who turns Flora’s misfortune to her own greedy advantage.

This story is very readable and will have you eagerly following its clever twists and turns – read and enjoy.

Audrey Reimann was brought up in Macclesfield and attended Macclesfield Grammar School for Girls. She now lives in East Lothian with her husband; they have 3 children and 10 grandchildren.   Audrey had a varied career as bank clerk, nurse, teacher and foster mother but her main love is story telling – she recently appeared on My Life in Books on BBC Two with Anne Robinson .

Flora’s War Published by Ebury Press on 18^th May 2017 in paperback  £5.99  e- book £3.99

I Missed the Spring  by Katherine Rubin

A Roller Coaster Ride Through A Bipolar Life

This year in the UK mental illness is at last being talked about, and Katherine Rubin’s memoir of an adult life dominated by her bipolar condition is a frank and searing, but gentle exploration, of a life lived alongside delusion, suffering and huge manic heights until at last peace, or as Rubin prefers, a re-awakening, restores both creativity and balance.

It is a book for everyone, as we – those ‘outside’ – muse, ponder and are finally able to empathise and understand the lives of those involved in mental issues. Not just the sufferer but the family, and friends in the path of the whirlwind.

The life of London born Kaila is told in the first person, from her birth, to her arrival in Israel to work on a kibbutz and her meeting with David, which leads to marriage and settlement in Israel. The height of delight one might think, but which, in fact,  created a geographical separation from her family. This somehow triggers the mood disorder. But why?

Slowly the mystery is unravelled, the past is explored, until many years later she reaches a plateau of balance, and her long suppressed creativity – Rubins is a fine poet, writing in English and Hebrew, is restored.

Over the years of therapy, and medication David is her rock, and remains so, right from the moment Rubins wakes in England where they have returned for their wedding, on her bridal bed proclaiming she has conceived the Child of Peace that she is a prophet and privy to the reality of Universal Peace. After months in a psychiatric hospital suffering from extreme mood swings, David takes his bride home to Israel, a broken vessel on mind-numbing medication to treat manic-depression.

This is the start of the journey. Read and learn. The journey takes courage, patience and seems never ending, but it does end.

Her son, Shai provides her with a stepping stone to a creative future and thus restores the springtime of her life. Over the next decade, Kaila becomes a prolific poet and tells her story in verse in a book of poems entitled ‘Back from Beyond,’ about her bipolar disorder, the reawakening and her new-found joy in life, in her loving partner and in nature.

She writes a journal, documenting her daily life and creative work. It soon becomes a means of self analysis, uncovering the horrors of her early years and provides the material for her memoir, I Missed the Spring.

It’s a memoir we should all read. Bravo, to the courage of those who live, endure and often find their way to sanctuary.

About Katherine Rubin, by Katherine: People talk about coming out of the closet, but I literally emerged from a pill box to write this book. In deep despair, with a daily regimen of a dozen pills to combat psychiatric, psychosomatic and age-related conditions, a glimmer of insight led to my first poem, “The Pill Box.” I realized that the drugs were suppressing my poetry and the natural rhythm of my daily life.
Women performing domestic tasks seemed to have the energetic rhythm of a healthy mind that looks positively to the chores ahead, whereas I was always full of dread. When I dispensed with the pill box and replaced it with daily sport, healthy nutrition and poetry, I finally found my rhythm in the juxtaposition of domestic activity and creative endeavour. For me, the one generates energy for the other. Finally, in my sixties, I reclaimed glowing health, joy and clarity and published four books of poetry. With this book, ‘I Missed the Spring,’ I am finally telling the story I have always wanted to share.

I Missed the Spring by Katherine Rubin.   Amazon Pb £8.06

It’s  the single malt that was my dad’s absolute favourite. He would savour the moment, sipping it from one of his cut glass tumblers, just as it was, no ice, no water.

The extraordinary thing was that after decades, his son from a previous relationship found him. Young Bill he was called because though my dad’s name was Ron, his surname was Williams, and therefore, as a wartime spitfire pilot he was called Bill.

Young Bill was yonks older than us, and the spitting image of my dad, he even wore similar clothes, but would they bond? We were agog.

He sat down, Dad said,

‘Have a drink. What’s your favourite tipple?’

Sure enough, it was the same as Dad’s. So it’s all in the genes. All was well, I can still picture them both, running their forefingers down the glass – two peas in a pod. Sniffing the aroma, then relaxing, sipping, the shoulders going down. Time to catch up.

The pair of them are long gone, but my son is a chip off the old block – a great Glenlivet fan.

So to all you out there, looking for something special for Sunday 18^th June, do consider this Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve. I’d buy it for my dad, to honour his parenting and guidance, not to mention sense of mischief.

In Gaelic, Glenlivet means ‘valley of the smooth-flowing one’ and whisky from Livet Valley has been known for exceptional quality since the 19th Century. The Glenlivet has created an expression to honour the original vision of its pioneering founder George Smith; The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve pays tribute to the uniquely smooth and fruity taste Smith first envisioned in 1824, but with a contemporary twist.

A few details with which to impress your dad: skilful selection of casks enhances the signature fruity flavours of The Glenlivet, while whisky taken from traditional oak casks is complemented by the selective use of American first-fill casks to give a hint of creamy sweetness. The result is a whisky with delicious aromas of citrus fruit and notes of oranges and pears and hints of toffee apples and candy, while the long, creamy, smooth finish makes this a deliciously satisfying dram.

Well, Dad wouldn’t know about that, but he knew what he liked, and so did Young Bill, so too my son. It will slip down a treat.

Go on, your dad deserves it, you know he does.

The Glenlivet, Founder’s Reserve is available RRP £34.15. Stockists include Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Morrisons, ASDA, www.thewhiskyexchange.com and all specialist retailers.

@TheGlenlivet

www.TheGlenlivet.com

* Milly Adams’ latest book, At long Last Love is published by Arrow on 15^th June.