James Phelps to Help Judge Bursary for Playwrights of Diverse Backgrounds

James Phelps (Fred Weasley) is going to be part of an exciting new artistic venture – he will be a judge for the new Adam Morley Sponsor a Playwright Bursary. The award has a blind submission process to encourage equal opportunities and make it accessible to writers from diverse backgrounds.

The new bursary is launched by Adam Morley, who, as executive producer of the campaign Actor Awareness, promotes equality and diversity in the arts. He is also artistic director of touring company Baroque Theatre and associate director of the Canal Café Theatre in London.

Out of nearly 100 submissions, 15 shortlisted plays will now go before the panel of judges. The shortlist and winner will be announced later in the year, and the winner will receive £1,000 to develop their script to production in 2018.

The five other judges on the panel include playwright, broadcaster, and performer Yasmeen Khan; theater publicist Chris Hislop; acting agency director Lola Williams; writer and broadcaster John Byrne; and director, producer, and actress Emma Taylor.

James Phelps, along with brother Oliver (George Weasley), was also a presenter this week at the Pride of Birmingham Awards, which highlighted “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”