A production of Caryl Churchill’s Far Away to be staged at the Young Vic in November will be the first professional production of the play staged by a woman in the UK. It will be directed by Kate Hewitt, who won the annual JMK Award with her ideas for the show.
The award, which comes with a £25,000 prize, is given annually to a director who is younger than 30 and has staged no more than two professional productions.
Far Away, which premiered at the Royal Court in 2000, is a four handed tale of manipulation and denial. It will run at the Young Vic from 7 to 29 November.
Stephen Fewell, Chair of the JMK Trust, said: “Kate and her team impressed with their creative and original ideas for this modern classic. But it was Kate’s skill with actors that has secured her this year’s JMK Award and, with the support of the Young Vic, the rare opportunity to take that risk.”
Hewitt, who is Resident Director on Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and has worked as Assistant Director on productions including Wild Swans (Young Vic) and Clybourne Park (Royal Court), joins a list of winners that include Thea Sharrock, Bijan Sheibani, Natalie Abrahami and Polly Findlay.
Speaking about her win Hewitt said: “The JMK allows me the incredible opportunity to apply myself in a fully committed way to a staggering play, to venture out as a director making my own work, and also connects me to a network and world of very exciting practitioners and collaborators. I’m thrilled.”
Roy Alexander Weise, who will direct The Man In The Green Jacket at Jermyn Street Theatre this July, was the runner-up and will receive £2,000.