Finalists For The Fleur Du Cap Award Winning SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition Announced

Professional staged readings of their plays will take place on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 September with the winners announced at an event on Thursday 27 September. The venue is the Theatre Arts Admin Collective, Methodist Church Hall, corner of Milton Road and Wesley Street, Observatory, Cape Town. Entrance is free.

The finalists are Terence Makapan for Benji; Ben Abbott for Dissolved; CJ de Beer for Balcony Endeavours and Koleka Putuma for No Easter Sunday For Queers.

Darrel Bristow-Bovey, winner of the 2017 SCrIBE competition, will have his play Priest With Balloons presented by the Imbewu Trust, directed by Paul Griffiths, in early 2019.

Now in its seventh year, the competition, which is a flagship project of the Imbewu Trust, was recently awarded the Fleur du Cap Theatre Award for Innovation in Theatre for its endeavor to develop South Africa's contemporary theatre through the SCrIBE competition.

Benji is about a father who is trying to cope with the death of his son, whilst trying to connect with a young man who has unresolved issues with his father. The play explores the journey of loss and the lengths we can go to in order to find closure.

In Dissolved a married gay couple takes a soak in their small, claw-footed bathtub. Through the window, a storm is brewing. They reminisce about the past and speculate about the future, with their bath time routine presenting a key foundation of their relationship.

In Balcony Endeavours, two best friends enjoy a Saturday evening on a balcony, central Cape Town. The vanity overflows as they stalk their new neighbour, on the adjacent balcony. Hilarity ensues after mild alcohol consumption, as they try to impress their suitor.

No Easter Sunday For Queers tells the story of Napo, a lesbian in her twenties, who is love with Mimi, a queer woman in her thirties. The two women are murdered at a church where Napo's father is the pastor. The play explores religion and queer identity and aims to find a language that serves as a bridge between the queer child who is raised in an orthodox religious environment and the environment itself.

SCrIBE is a platform for South African writers to develop their work, with a number of prizes which changes each year depending on the most suitable support for a designated writer and script. The finalists of the competition have the opportunity for their play to be presented at a staged reading then receive feedback from the professional director and actors involved as well as the audience members. Prizes have included winning scripts being produced for a run at a professional theatre, mentorship programmes and further script development support.

Criteria for the SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition are that scripts must not have been previously produced, nor have existing future runs plans of being produced. Other criteria are that the scripts should be in English, no longer than 40 pages or 80 minutes long and with a maximum of five cast members. Entrants must be over 18 years old. The Imbewu Trust and judges look for original content of outstanding quality that explores the diverse range of South African stories. The panel of SCrIBE judges comprises a group of seasoned theatre practitioners.

"We encourage people to come along and be part of the script and, in turn, the theatre development process," says Samantha de Romijn, co-founder of the Imbewu Trust. "Each year participants comment how constructive, supportive and fun the staged readings are and they form a key element of this competition. We have once again received an incredible number of entries covering a wide range of topics."

The Imbewu Trust is a non-profit organisation which was established by Paul Griffiths and Samantha de Romijn to promote the development of contemporary South African theatre and arts and to help showcase it on an international stage. It seeks to create an accessible community of varied voices that can flourish through collaboration, resourcefulness and innovation.

The SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition readings take place on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 September with the winners announced at an event on 27 September. Venue is the Theatre Arts Admin Collective, Methodist Church Hall, corner of Milton Road and Wesley Street, Observatory, Cape Town. Parking is available in the area.

Entrance is free and spaces allocated on a first-come, first serve basis.

For further information visit www.imbewuarts.com

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