A PLAYWRIGHT will see his new effort performed at Oxford’s Pegasus Theatre after winning an open competition.
The Magdalen Road theatre launched the contest last year to find a new play by an Oxfordshire writer.
The plan was for the selected play to be performed by theatre company :DELIRIUM on the Pullman Stage at the theatre.
And Witney-based Joe Graham’s intense two-hander Oranges on the Brain was picked from about 30 entries.
Mr Graham, 53, said: “They had a competition online for all Oxfordshire writers. I sent a play along and had a meeting with them and they seemed to like it.”
The graphic designer has had some success in the playwriting field, producing a musical comedy, Rhinestone Mondays which toured around the country starring former EastEnders’ star Shaun Williamson. He has also put on shows in and around Oxfordshire but it will be his first show at Pegasus.
His play is also a departure in style – most of his previous efforts have been comedies, while Oranges on the Brain, about a couple who examine their own existence and relationship, is a much darker and more intense piece.
Mr Graham said: “I’m really excited about it. There aren’t too many places that do new writing, so this opportunity is quite unique.
“I have only seen a tiny bit of rehearsals so I’m really looking forward to seeing it.
“I have had quite a few plays done but they have been around Oxfordshire rather than in Oxford – that’s part of what makes it exciting because I have lived here for 20 odd years.”
London-based :DELIRIUM is one of Pegasus’s supported companies, receiving help with resources and skills to progress further, but it will be the first production it has staged at the East Oxford theatre.
Pegasus creative producer Emily Winfield said: “Although :DELIRIUM are London-based they have a relationship with us and they wanted to have a link with Oxford, get some of the local creativity and give local writers a chance to shine.
“I am incredibly excited and so looking forward to seeing them doing something completely new.”
The play opens at Pegasus next Thursday and runs until to Saturday, June 23. To book, see the website pegasustheatre.org.uk
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