Keisha Thompson has been awarded the £10,000 Arts Foundation Futures Award for Theatre Makers, chosen by a panel of judges featuring director of Manchester International Festival John McGrath, playwright and performer Bryony Kimmings, and director of Battersea Arts Center Tarek Iskander.
The Award is supported by the Maria Björnson Memorial Fund and was announced at the online celebration with special guest Lily Cole.
Thompson recently created Man on the Moon, an award-winning solo show which follows her communication with her reclusive father through books, letters and symbols. Her debut show, I Wish I had a Mustache, was a comedic yet ‘disturbing’ journey through the history of the female beauty regime, investigating gender, culture, and self-acceptance.
Iskander, a member of the judging panel, said: ‘Keisha’s incredible body of work speaks for itself. She is a true talent who fuses her exceptional craftsmanship with her personal experiences in a way that feels effortless, but is clearly the product of enormous thought, hard work and skill.
‘Her remarkable practice deserves and demands a bigger audience. Keisha’s is a truly original voice that speaks with authority and grace – and a very worthy winner of this prestigious award.’
Thompson is the chair of radical arts funding body, Future’s Venture Foundation and is a fellow of the MOBO and London Theatre Consortium (LTC) Fellowship. She is currently working with Eclipse Theatre, York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre to stage a new play, The Bell Curves, as well as working with Fuel Theatre and Alan Lane to create a new children’s show.
John McGrath said: ‘Keisha Thompson is an artistic force to be reckoned with. Her politics are resonant and surprising. Her use of theatrical form is thoughtful and inventive. Her open-ness to influences and inspirations is invigorating. A voice for the present and the future, and already a mentor and guide to the generation coming up behind her.’
Three runners-up were also announced, each receiving £1,000: Josie Ellis-Jones, Matilda Ibini and Urielle Klien-Mekongo. Four additional Awards in other artistic disciplines have also been presented for 2021, including in Choral Composition, Materials Innovation, Environmental Writing and Visual Arts.