Applications open for Kevin Elyot Award 2019

Kevin Elyot in 2007 Phil Fisk

Press release issued: 3 May 2019

Applications are now open for the University of Bristol Theatre Collection 2019 Kevin Elyot Award – created in memory of the acclaimed actor and writer.

The Kevin Elyot Award is an annual award of £3,000 given to support a writer-in-residence at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection.

It is made in memory of Kevin Elyot (1951-2014) - an alumnus of the University Drama Department – and the influence he has had on writing and the Arts.

It is hoped that the award will enable a writer to be inspired by his work and help them develop their own practice.

The Kevin Elyot Archive is held at the Theatre Collection, and comprises scripts, correspondence, manuscript and publicity material detailing Elyot’s working process from initial idea to finished product.

The award has been generously funded by an endowment given to the University by members of Kevin’s family.

The award will support a promising writer, practitioner or scholar to begin the process of creating a new written work. The award holder will use the Kevin Elyot Archive as well as other holdings within the Theatre Collection to inspire a new dramatic work or other creative or academic outcome.

Further details of the award and application process can be found here. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 31 May.

Last year’s winner was spoken word poet, writer and performer Deanna Rodger. She said: “I have many more days to be spent in the archives. As a space in and of itself it is welcoming and peaceful, and as a historical resource it is transformational.

“I will pry a little deeper/wider into his archive but am happy to of reached this place where I am inspired to leave an artefact which will navigate people through my poems in years to come.”

Further information

Kevin Elyot (1951 to 2014) was a Bristol alumnus (Drama Department) who started his career as an actor but went on to achieve great success through his ground-breaking plays and adaptations.

The Kevin Elyot Archive is held at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection, His process for adapting novels for television, such as his work with Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Poirot is also well documented in the archive. The content relating to his plays, including the seminal My Night with Reg, demonstrates his creative process and the particular emphasis he placed on the importance of style and form within a play.

The Theatre Collection is one of the world's largest archives of British theatre history and Live Art and is an accredited museum and international research facility open to all.

Founded in 1951 to serve the first UK university drama department, our collections cover the period from 1572 to the 21st century and our visitors include everyone from international scholars to family historians.