John Clancy, Dennis Kelly, Edgar Oliver et al. Win Edinburgh Fringe First Awards

The first winners of this year’s prestigious Fringe First Awards, celebrating high-quality new drama at the Edinburgh Festival, have been announced by The Scotsman. Amongst the winners is Dennis Kelly’s latest play Orphans, directed by Roxana Silbert, which is scheduled for a run at London’s Soho Theatre in the fall. John Clancy, one of the co-founders of the New York International Fringe Festival, received his fifth Fringe First for The Event, a collaboration with actor David Calvitto. That work will also be seen in this year’s FringeNYC, starring Matt Oberg.

Prizes also went to the UK premieres of the Off-Broadway hit East 10th Street: Self Portrait with Empty House, written and performed by Edgar Oliver; Internal, from Belgian teen theatre troupe Ontroerend Goed; Paul Charlton’s play Crush; Fin Kennedy’s The Unravelling; and Found, a dance piece choreographed by Christine Devaney.

The Fringe First Awards were established in 1973, and are announced weekly during the festival, with the next round winners being announced next Friday August 21. There is no fixed number given and the only requirement is that the work must be new — having had no more than six performances in the UK, prior to the Fringe.

For more information, visit Whatsonstage.com/Edinburgh2009.