Congratulations to our Top Hat Winner 2019
Each year Playmakers invites past and present students from the University of Winchester to take part in its Top Hat competition, which takes place during the Hat Fair weekend.
Students have the chance to win mentoring from Hat Fair Director, Andrew Loretto, and develop a brand-new show for the following year’s Hat Fair festival.
This year’s winner was Lottie Clist, with a piece called 36% - featuring a puppet resembling an older being, and focusing on old age, isolation, and its impact on a person’s mental and physical health.
Lottie performed with her friend, and fellow drama student, Kerryanne Hewlett – who will now support her to produce a brand-new act for Hat Fair 2020.
Also competing was stand-up and impressionist, Jacob Hulland, whose show The Dyslexic, Flat-Footed, Middle-Aged Teenager told of a teenager who finds at university that he is anything but normal; while David Flanagan performed a poem called Stories in Stone, exploring Winchester’s history and the memories residents and performers have of the city.
Lottie and Kerryanne are looking forward to creating a challenging and thought-provoking new piece for Hat Fair 2020. Watch this space!
"I feel over the moon and humbled that the audiences felt connected to, and understood, 36%. Being part of Hat Fair 2019 has been a wonderful experience and I have felt supported and encouraged."
Playmakers Top Hat Competition provides a platform for student performers from the University of Winchester (an Investing Partner of Play to the Crowd).
To take part in the Top Hat Competition, current students and recent graduates of the university are asked to submit ideas for outdoor performances.
The three chosen applicants then take part in workshops led by Playmakers to develop these ideas, ready to perform at Hat Fair, and for the public vote.
For more information contact kat@playtothecrowd.co.uk
