Ipswich New Wolsey Theatre associate artist and playwright Martha Loader in running for 2024 Stage Debut Awards
An Ipswich-based playwright is in the spotlight, having been nominated for an award honouring breakthrough theatre talent.
Martha Loader, associate artist at the New Wolsey Theatre, has cause for celebration after her play, Bindweed, secured her place in the running for the best writer category of the 2024 Stage Debut Awards.
Set in Colchester, the play was written as part of the Mercury Playwrights scheme and won the judges award at the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2022.
The Stage Debut Awards will take place on September 29.
Martha thanked everyone who helped make the play possible, including the New Wolsey and theatre company HighTide, which acted as producers, as well as the charity Iceni Ipswich and Suffolk Police.
She said: “I am hugely honoured to have been nominated as a writer as part of The Stage Debut Awards for Bindweed.
“This play is very special to me for so many reasons, but particularly because it was made with the support and guidance of so many fantastic East-based creatives and organisations.”
Martha described Bindweed as a tale of responsibility and rehabilitation and how to tackle abuse at its roots.
In addition to her role at the New Wolsey, Martha also takes on writing commissions from Menagerie Theatre Company and the Almeida Theatre.
Douglas Rintoul, chief executive of the New Wolsey Theatre, congratulated Martha.
He said: “To see Martha, a talent nurtured right here in Ipswich, gain recognition on a national stage is a testament to the incredible creativity flourishing in our community.”
Her nomination highlighted not only her exceptional skill but also the ‘vibrant ecosystem’ of support in place to develop and showcase homegrown talent, he said.
Mr Rintoul added: “At the New Wolsey Theatre, we are immensely proud to play a role in fostering the careers of emerging artists like Martha, who continue to elevate the profile of Ipswich's artistic landscape on a national level."
