Princess Di comedy nominated for Manchester Theatre Award
Thursday 26 January 2017
A PhD candidate at the University of Salford has been nominated for a Manchester Theatre Award for a play that he wrote imagining the afterlife of Princess Diana.
Stephen M Hornby has been nominated in the category Best Fringe Production for his dark comedy entitled 'Die Diana'.
The play involves three people stepping out of the shadows and laying claim to Diana's title, with different stories about what happened to her.
Stephen said: “The play was a joy to write. It was great to have a project where I could explore modern day issues surrounding fame, celebrity and press intrusion. All my lecturers have been very supportive of me, they all came to watch my play at the Festival. They were also excellent in helping me with my PhD application.”
A trailer for Die Diana was produced by final year Journalism students, Laura Bailey and Theo Chikomba, which can be viewed below:
The Pro-Vice Chancellor Student Experience at the University of Salford has also been nominated for a Manchester Theatre Award. Sam Grogan has been nominated for the Best Fringe Performance for his role in The Waiting Room, which is a one-man production set on a railway platform.
Sam said: “I’m delighted to receive the nomination from such a prominent Manchester awards ceremony. It’s rewarding and humbling in equal measure to receive this for a monologue – the role really gave me a chance to stretch performance muscles and also gave me licence to bring out a darker side - Colleagues who saw the Manchester Fringe performance weren’t sure whether to say hello to me the following morning! .
This opportunity is really important for me as PVC SE as it allows me to actively champion the engagement and involvement of our students in research. This performance piece is part of a wider suite of my performance research and writing which examines performer absorption and optimal performative states of being across various mediums. It’s really exciting to be able to share this work and challenge myself in front of colleagues and our students.”
The Waiting Room and Die Diana are both set to appear on tour this year at the New Adelphi theatre, with dates to be confirmed.
The Manchester Theatre Awards will take place on 17th March. Anyone can register a show for 1-31st July 2017, more details can be found on the Greater Manchester Fringe website: www.greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk
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Victoria Barker
0161 295 4779
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