Photo Flash: In Rehearsal with Papatango's ORCA

Papatango has just released rehearsal photos of Orca - Matt Grinter's winning entry from a record 1053 submissions to the 8th annual Papatango New Writing Prize. Alice Hamilton directs Aden Gillett, Simon Gregor, Carla Langley, Rona Morison and Ellie Turner in the production opening at Southwark Playhouse on 4 November, with previews from 2 November, running until 26 November. Design is by Frankie Bradshaw, with lighting by Johanna Town and sound by Richard Hammarton.

"One girl, against the happiness of the whole village. Can you not see it has to be done?"

Midsummer. The village must choose a new Daughter to sail with the fishing boats and bless the waters, keeping the threat of the orcas that roam the sea at bay for another year.

Fan hopes with all her heart to be the one chosen, but her older sister Maggie is adamant she must never, never, go with the boats. Because something happened to Maggie out there. Because no one will admit it. Because sometimes the most beautiful places harbour the darkest secrets.

Orca is an incisive, unflinching insight into what makes a community tolerate the unthinkable.

Matt Grinter lives in Bristol. He worked as a director prior to beginning a career as a writer. His very first play, Angel, was produced by Papatango in 2008 and won the Lost Theatre's One Act Play Festival; this inspired Grinter to focus on his writing. His second play, The Dog and the Elephant, had short runs at the Vault Festival and the Bristol Old Vic Studio, where he is currently one of the Open Session Writers on attachment. Orca will be his first full production.

Aden Gillett plays The Father. His theatre credits include R and D, Amongst Friends (Hampstead Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare's Globe), The White Carnation and Accolade (Finborough Theatre - Off West End Award for Best Actor), The Doctor's Dilemma (National Theatre), Next Time I'll Sing To You (Orange Tree Theatre), The Little Hut (UK tour), The Price (Edinburgh Lyceum), Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing, Design for Living (Theatre Royal Bath), Blithe Spirit (Savoy Theatre and tour), and Betrayal (Duchess Theatre and tour). His television work includes Vera, Father Brown, Holby City (series regular Edward Campbell), Silk, The Impressionists, The Queen's Sister, Pollyanna, Innocents, Ivanhoe, The House of Eliott and Harry Enfield's Television Programme; and for film, A Caribbean Dream, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Tula: The Revolt, Collusion and The Winslow Boy.

Simon Gregor plays Joshua. His recent theatre credits include American Psycho, The Late Henry Moss and The Hypochondriac (Almeida Theatre), Around the World in 80 Days (St James Theatre), and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Things We Do for Love and King Lear (Theatre Royal Bath). His television work includes The Borgias, Da Vinci's Demons and Black Mirror.

Carla Langley plays Fan. Her theatre credits include Future Conditional (The Old Vic), Cuddles (New York, Ovalhouse & tour), The Minotaur (Polka Theatre & Theatre Clywd) and Liola (National Theatre). Television credits include Witness For The Prosecution and Penny Dreadful.

Rona Morison plays Maggie. Her theatre credits include Julie (Northern Stage), The Crucible (Bristol Old Vic), Scuttlers (Manchester Royal Exchange), The James Plays (National Theatre), To Kill a Mockingbird (Regent's Park Theatre), Crave and Illusion (Bush Theatre/tour) and Anhedonia (Royal Court Theatre).

Ellie Turner plays Gretchen. Her recent theatre credits include R and D (Hampstead Theatre), Hamlet, The Cherry Orchard (National Theatre) and Stone Face, Merit, Drama at Inish and Hindle Wakes (Finborough Theatre). Television work includes Misfits, and film credits include Black Cab, for which she won the 2014 Golden Egg Film Festival Award.

Alice Hamilton's is co-Artistic Director of theatre company Up in Arms. Her work for the company includes German Skerries (Orange Tree Theatre and UK tour), Eventide (Arcola Theatre and UK tour), Visitors (Bush Theatre, Arcola Theatre and UK tour) and Fear of Music (Out of Joint UK tour). Her other credits include Orson's Shadow (Southwark Playhouse), Missing (Tristan Bates Theatre) and At First Sight (Latitude Festival and tour). She worked as Staff Director on Man and Superman at the National Theatre, and has directed development workshops and rehearsed readings with the Royal Court, National Theatre, Salisbury Playhouse, and High Tide.

Papatango is a charity who discover and champion new playwrights by running open application schemes and opportunities, all free to enter and assessed anonymously. As well as the New Writing Prize, Papatango offers an annual Resident Playwright scheme, taking an emerging playwright through commissioning and development of a new play, and also runs an extensive programme of free playwriting workshops for children and adults in London, Bristol, Bedford and Liverpool. Thistrained 721 budding writers in 2015 and has reached over 1000 individuals so far in 2016. All writers submitting scripts to Papatango receive full feedback for free.

The Papatango New Writing Prize is the UK's only annual award guaranteeing an emerging playwright a full production, publication, 10% of the gross box office and a £6000 commission for a second play. Previous writers produced under the prize include Dawn King, Dominic Mitchell, Tom Morton-Smith, Fiona Doyle, Luke Owen, Louise Monaghan and last year's winner James Rushbrooke.

Photo Credit: Richard Davenport for The Other Richard

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