Nuclear sub play wins Sam Heughan award

A play about officers on a nuclear submarine has won a new award created by Outlander star Sam Heughan for students at his former drama school.

Write Start: The Sam Heughan Creative Commission was designed as an annual award to inspire collaboration across music, drama, dance, production, film and education at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), which celebrates its 175th anniversary this year.

John Black, a secondyear BA Filmmaking student, has won the contest with his entry, Bucket Of Sunshine, a stage play about officers in a submarine which questions the moral and ethical dilemmas of nuclear weapons.

Mr Black, the writer and producer of the play, will receive a £5,000 bursary as well as mentoring from Heughan and industry experts to develop the work, which is due to be staged this summer.

He is collaborating with fellow second-year film student Sophia Ralston, who will direct the play, and set designer Rachael Orr, a third-year production arts and design student.

Heughan said he was impressed with the standard of entries from across the institution.

He added: “I can see this play being an immersive and intense audience experience and it has great potential to be both a stage play and a film in the future.”

Winner John Black.