Sitcom Mission 2011 - Final
Saturday 18th June 2011
The Grand Final of The Sitcom Mission 2011 took place tonight. Here are details on the five sitcoms involved:
| Sitcom | Writer | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| In the Meantime | by | Ciaran Murtagh and Andrew Jones | Details |
| What Next? | by | Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards | Details |
| The Box | by | Russell Obeney | Details |
| The Regulators | by | Falko Rademacher | Details |
| Eye Captain | by | Matthew Comras | Details |
Every 1's A Critic Ltd, in partnership with Hat Trick Productions, are delighted to announce that Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards are the winners of The Sitcom Mission 2011.
This year's final was judged by Lucy Lumsden (Head of Comedy, Sky TV); Anne Gilchrist (Creative Head, BBC TV Comedy); Claire Zolkwer (Commissioning Editor, Entertainment and Comedy, ITV); Chris Collie (Director of Programming, Comedy Central) and Andy Hamilton (Writer and Director, Outnumbered).
The winners, Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards, say: "Everyone involved in What Next? is absolutely delighted to have won. Our experience of The Sitcom Mission has been a fantastic learning curve from start to nail-biting finish. It has been great taking the script from page to stage and we would like to thank our director and cast for bringing the show to life so brilliantly. We are also indebted to producers Declan and Simon for their unstinting hard work, commitment and invaluable support. We are thrilled to have an opportunity to work with the legendary Hat Trick, and would like to thank them for their continued support of new writing."
Formed in 2008 by producers Declan Hill and Simon Wright as a launchpad for writers, actors and directors entering the sitcom world, The Sitcom Mission takes situation comedy back to its roots - live theatre. This year's competition attracted more than 1200 entries, whittled down to a longlist of 32 outstanding scripts. The writers were then given a month to provide two more 15 minute episodes of the sitcom and the final eight scripts went through to a public and industry showcase held in June and July, each assigned a script editor, director and actors by the producers.
After the public and industry showcase, five sitcoms were chosen to present to the judges:
In The Meantime written by Ciaran Murtagh and Andrew Jones, who also write for the BBC's Hotel Trubble, The Legend of Dick and Dom, The Slammer and Scoop; What Next? written by Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards, directed by the National Theatre's Cal McCrystal, associate director on One Man, Two Guvnors starring James Corden; The Regulators written by Falko Rademacher from Berlin which promises to be the best German sitcom since Mein Leben Und Ich, their version of My So-Called Life; The Box by Russell Obeney, quarter finalist of the Sitcom Mission 2010; and Eye Captain by first-time writer Matthew Comras.
Best Actress went to Joy Merriman for the lead role in What Next?, whilst Best Actor was picked up by Stephen Harvey for the central role In the Meantime.
Declan Hill and Simon Wright comment: "We're absolutely delighted with our Grand Final five, and want to congratulate Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards for their fantastic winning entry What Next?. We'd also like to thank everyone who took part in The Sitcom Mission 2011 - the 1,200 writers who put pen to paper to make the whole thing happen, script editors, directors, actors and the guys at the New Diorama Theatre. Most of all we'd like to thank all at Hat Trick Productions - Jimmy Mulville for his vision and faith, Anna Silver and Angela Sinden for their wise eyes and even wiser words, and the brilliant and inspirational Claire Broughton for her enthusiasm and boundless energy."