For the first time in its history the prize is shared between two winning plays, Maids by Sheila White and The Prayer by Grant Buchanan-Marshall.
Speaking at the tenth anniversary of the Awards in 2006 Sheila said “Since being the joining winner of the Alfred Fagon Award in 1999 with my play Maids, I have found a few door opened to me. Maids was produced at The Courtyard Theatre in 2002. I believe the Award can offer the writer the first step on the ladder in a highly competitive business. Therefore I hope the Award will continue to grow and reach out to promising writers and gain more recognition within the theatre world.”
Grant Buchanan-Marshall said “Since I became joint winner, I have written plays for Talawa, which were produced at the Young Vic and Stratford Circle. This included a production of The Prayer. I have also had work produced for Radio 4 Drama. My plays People’s Home was one of the winners of the annual playwriting festival at the Warehouse Theatre, Croydon…The Award gave me the impulse and encouragement to explore ideas and has helped me move on to better things. Long may it continue!”
Belinda Otas and Afridiziak interview Grant.