Slung Low Wins The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award

Founded to help the development of emerging practitioners in the field of experimental theatre, The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2008 has been awarded to Slung Low for their new show ‘Helium’. The winner was chosen from four finalists who were given the opportunity to research and develop their productions. The results of this research and development were presented to a panel of judges last Friday at the Barbican. Slung Low will receive a total grant of £29,500 for the production of ‘Helium’ which will run at the Barbican Pit as part of the BITE season for three weeks next Autumn.

Directed by Slung Low Artistic Director Alan Lane, ‘Helium’ exposes the ingenuity of the company’s theatre-making to its full extent. ‘Helium’ tells the story of a girl, Bella and her quest to discover her Grandfather’s hidden past and unfold the mysteries concealed by a helium balloon. Famed for their innovative story-telling, Slung Low have created a production staged in a series of 6 enclosed performance boxes, allowing each audience member to experience the show individually as they journey through the boxes, from the inside of a Lancaster Bomber, to a children’s birthday party in Victorian London and finally to high up in Dresden Cathedral. Despite the originality of the presentation, the story, Bella’s story, by Matthew David Scott and J C Marshall is central to the production. Designed by Marie Blunck, ‘Helium’ incorporates digital video by Ben Eaton with live performance, puppetry and radio drama techniques and features music by Heather Fenoughty and performance by Richard Warburton. ‘Helium’ is produced by Ben Pugh.

First launched in 2003, The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust (OSBTT) Award is an annual award which aims to encourage a new generation of creative artists working on bold, innovative and challenging projects. This year’s judging panel comprised Louise Jeffrey (Head of Theatre, Barbican), Felix Barrett (Artistic Director, Punch Drunk), Jasmin Vardimon (Artistic Director, Jasmin Vardimon Dance Company), Romilly Walton Masters (Director, OSBTT) and Graham Whybrow (former Literary Manager, Royal Court). The BITE season at the Barbican presents fresh new work that hovers on the very edges of classification, presenting cross-discipline work that fuses different artforms in unexpected ways and explores the possibilities of theatre to their full extent. 2008 sees the second year of a partnership between The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust and BITE.

Romilly Walton Masters, Director of OSBTT comments:
“The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2008 had a particularly strong short list which made choosing a final winner difficult. However, Slung Low with Helium, stood out as a production that was able to be innovative in its use of theatrical form while having at its heart a story which is both engaging and ambitious.”