The Hermitage Artist Retreat today released photos from the workshop presentation of newly commissioned work by Chris Bush, the fourth recipient of the $35,000 Hermitage Major Theater Award (HMTA).
On October 10th, Bush shared a London workshop presentation of her newly commissioned play Orlando (FL), with support from the National Theatre New Work Department. Chris Bush is an award-winning playwright, lyricist, and theater-maker based in the United Kingdom. Her comprehensive body of work includes Standing at the Sky’s Edge, which won her an Olivier Award and a UK Theatre Award for Best Musical.
The Hermitage Major Theater Award was established in 2021 to recognize a playwright or theater artist with a substantial commission to create a new, original, and impactful piece of theater. This international, jury-selected award, established by the Hermitage with generous support from Flora Major and the Kutya Major Foundation, offers one of the largest unrestricted nonprofit theater commissions. Bush received a cash prize of $35,000, as well as a residency at the Hermitage Artist Retreat (Sarasota County, Florida), plus a developmental workshop and reading in London. The prize is intended to bridge the connection between the Hermitage, where the commission is born, and other leading arts and culture centers around the world, including London, New York, Chicago, and notable arts capitals where great theater is frequently developed and presented.
Chris Bush’s Orlando (FL) is a story of transformation, translation, and resistance. This London workshop reading was directed by Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg (Operation Epsilon, Shida). The cast included Fisayo Akinade (The Crucible, Heartstopper); Olivier Award winner Matthew Kelly (Stars in Their Eyes, Game for a Laugh); Lesley Lemon (Rare Earth Mettle); Serena Manteghi (The Diplomat, The Hound of the Baskervilles); Fizz Sinclair (Chris Bush’s Other Land, The Simple Life & Death, Modest), Cherrelle Skeete (Alterations, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child); Eleanor Sutton (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Jane Eyre, Amadeus), Olivier Award nominee Laura Pitt–Pulford (Chris Bush’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Sunset Boulevard), and EM Williams (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin).
HMTA winners are nominated and selected by a jury of recognized arts leaders in the field of theater. The 2024 Award Committee that selected Chris Bush included Michael Grandage, Tony and Olivier-Award winning director of stage and screen, former Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, and current Artistic Director of the Michael Grandage Company; Tessa Ross, CBE and BAFTA Award-winning Co-CEO of House Productions; and Indhu Rubasingham, Director of the National Theatre, Olivier Award-winning director, and former Artistic Director of the Kiln Theatre.
Previous recipients of the Hermitage Major Theater Award include Madeleine George, Shariffa Ali, and Imani Uzuri. California-based playwright Naomi Iizuka was announced in January as the fifth recipient of the HMTA. The Hermitage will present a workshop reading of her original commission in Chicago in the fall of 2026.