Æ writer wins EdFringe award

Sep 27 2022 | By More

Suzanne O’Brien wins Fringe Society’s Young Writers Award 2022

Congratulations to Suzanne O’Brien who has won the Fringe Society’s Young Writers Award for her contributions to All Edinburgh Theatre as part of our reviewing team at #EdFringe 2022.

Suzanne first joined our reviewing team in 2019 in our EdFringe mentoring scheme, which that year worked with young people from Edinburgh youth theatre Strangetown. As one of the most talented and reliable reviewers that year, she returned to join us after the pandemic.

Suzanne O’Brien

The Fringe’s Young Writers Award was set up in 2018 to encourage the next generation of arts writers at the Fringe, following the ending of the Allen Wright award. Any writers aged 16–21 were eligible to take part, submitting work either published or unpublished.

As the recipient of the 2022 award, Suzanne will receive one-to-one mentoring from arts writers at the Scotsman and paid work as part of the paper’s review team at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023.

She is about to start her final year of university working towards a BA in English Literature, although we hope that she will find some time to file a few more reviews for All Edinburgh Theatre over the coming months.

Suzanne said: “I am beyond delighted to be recognised with the Fringe Young Writers Award 2022, and to receive mentoring from The Scotsman team. I feel as a young person it is incredibly important for young voices to be out there, seen and heard​,​ which is exactly what this award champions and supports.”

attention to detail

According to the Scotsman, Suzanne’s submission for the awards “impressed the judges both in terms of the range of shows covered, and with its attention to detail.”

As a young professional actress, Suzanne has toured extensively to schools across Scotland with Rolled Up Productions and Fast Forward in peer-to-peer productions such as Balisong (2018/19), Trust Me (2019/20) and The Tea Play (2018 – 20)

Suzanne O’Brien (Left) in a performance of Balisong

Suzanne made her debut on the other side of the desk in 2022 as an assistant director on Wasted from Rolled Up Productions, which we reviewed at the Scottish Storytelling Centre as part of the Festival of Peer Inspiration in June this year (Trust Me & Wasted)

Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “We were delighted to support the return of the Young Fringe Writers’ Award this August. Fringe reviews are critical for our artists and venues, and this award gives us the opportunity to support and encourage young and emerging writers.”

Hearty congratulations to Suzanne for this recognition of her abilities. We are sure that she will be a success, whether she continues as a performer, a creative or a critic.

Suzanne’s reviews on All Edinburgh Theatre can be read here: By Suzanne O’Brien.

ENDS

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