The inaugural DAVID JOHNSON EMERGING TALENT AWARD was presented to not one, but two Fringe shows tonight [6pm August 28th] awarding both winners the full prize money of £11,000 each.
After a mixed-bill comedy and cabaret show featuring established fringe acts including Stewart Lee, Fascinating Aïda, Dave Johns (MC), Camille O'Sullivan, Lynn Ferguson and Rhys Nicholson the Award was made to two unique fringe shows, both winners taking home £11,000.
The search was led by arts journalist Helen Hawkins and her team of scouts. Helen said tonight: “Eve: All About Her. An extraordinary feat of both writing and acting, Keith Ramsay’s Eve is an uncategorisable piece of theatre, a fever dream rather than a narrative. It’s as if he’s thrown Hollywood’s great icons into a blender with a dash of everything from Shakespeare and Dante to Marianne Faithfull, then pressed Pulse. He delivered the resulting stream of consciousness with a blazing and unforgettable intensity.”
John Mackay, David’s long-term business partner, said: “An Audience with Milly Liu. Written and skilfully performed with a genuine sense of danger by François Pandolfo, was the sort of quintessential not-for-everyone Fringe experience that David would have loved - bonkers and filthy yet oddly moving.”
The Award trophies were designed and hand-made by Simon Munnery.
David Johnson (DJ) who died in 2020 was a fixture on the Fringe for over 30 years. DJ's ‘fringe finds’ included Graham Norton, Puppetry of the Penis, and bars that were still open at breakfast time. He produced scores of shows on (and off) the Fringe including The Rubberbandits, Sue Perkins, Fascinating Aïda, The Reduced Shakespeare Company, Malcolm McLaren, Trainspotting (original stage production), Stewart Lee, Alexei Sayle, Christeene, Kim Noble, Sandi Toksvig, Mark Almond, Mark Ravenhill and many others. He was a Trustee of the Pleasance Theatre Trust and an Associate Artist at Soho Theatre but he was mostly known for his raucous laughter, his generosity of wallet and his unnerving ability to spot an unexpected hit. His flair for commercial theatre was matched by - and often combined with - his fervent support for new and emerging artists.
Pictured: John Mackay, Keith Ramsey, Simon Munnery, Milly Liu by Steve Ullathorne.
