Jake OrrFollowing a nation-wide search for the best emerging young critics, A Younger Theatre is proud to introduce the six winners of the Edinburgh Young Critics Scheme 2014. The winners will each receive a week’s free accommodation and travel to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, as well as professional mentoring from Lyn Gardner (the Guardian) and Tom Dibdin (The Stage) and a fee for their writing with IdeasTap.
Meet the 2014 Edinburgh Young Critics Scheme Winners:
Adam Foster
@adzyfoster
Adam graduated from the University of Exeter with a First Class degree in Drama. He is currently enrolled on Royal Holloway’s MA Playwriting course. As a playwright, Adam has had work performed at numerous venues including South Hill Park Arts Centre, New Wimbledon Studio, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Exeter Phoenix, the Northcott Theatre and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His most recent play, Long Story Short, opens at the Pleasance Islington this week. As a theatre critic Adam has written for various publications, winning the Theatre Record Award for theatre criticism at this year’s National Student Drama Festival.
Amy Squirrell
@amymsquirrell
Amy is an arts and culture journalist based in Brighton. She likes eloquent prose with sharp wit, framed by a sleek design and has got a keen eye for quirk. She is also a cellist. Having graduated from the University of Sussex with a BA in Music in 2013 Amy is now studying for an MA in Journalism and Media Studies at Sussex.
James Fennemore
@jfennemore
James recently graduated with a degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University. He writes reviews and features independently and for A Younger Theatre, Broadway Baby, and Cherwell, Oxford’s student newspaper. He also directs and produces theatre, including production credits at Oxford Playhouse, Arcola Theatre, and C Venues Edinburgh.
Rowena Hawkins
@rowenahawkins_
Rowena has just finished the second year of her English degree at King’s College London and has spent her summer so far working with the wonderful LIFT festival. When she’s not writing essays or reading Shakespeare she can be found watching plays, writing about them, wandering art galleries or drinking tea.
Tim Bano
@tdpbano
After studying Classics at university, which gave Tim a brilliant insight into the origins of drama as we know it, he has been spending his time writing about arts and culture. He particularly loves writing about theatre, and seeing the wide range of productions and talent that the country has to offer.
Tom Kwei
@tomkweipoet
Tom is a performance poet/critic from Birmingham. Coming to the art of performance poetry from an interest in hip-hop, his pieces are dense and lyrical, revelling in witty rhythms and wordplay. Tom performs regularly around the country, competing in the 2013 Roundhouse Poetry Slam as well as supporting Jon Gomm at a sold out show in Liverpool. In 2014 he wrote and directed a spoken word web series pilot entitled, What They Said, the first of its kind within the literary scene. He also maintains a small art blog in which he records his first thoughts of paintings he’s just seen.