Kilkenny writer John Morton wins Best Theatre Script award
The awards are named in honour of O.Z. ‘Zebby’ Whitehead
Kilkenny writer John Morton won a Zebbie Award for Best Theatre Script for Denouement at the 19th Writers’ Guild of Ireland (WGI) Zebbie Awards at Light House Cinema Dublin last week.
Morton, who is also an actor, screenwriter and filmmaker, was presented with the Zebbie by Mary Kate O’Flanagan, with Barbara Bergin for Dublin Gothic and Lee Coffey for Jigsaw also nominated in the category.
The Zebbie Awards celebrate the best of Irish writing in Theatre, Television Drama, Continuing Drama, Short Film, Feature Film, Radio & Audio Drama and Children’s & Young People’s Television.
The awards ceremony was hosted by writer, actor and comedian Tara Flynn.
Sheena Lambert won the Best Feature Film script category for Báite, which she adapted from her own novel, The Lake, with the Zebbie presented to her by script editor Aideen McCarthy.
Ailbhe Keogan, received the Best TV Drama script award from Dee Roycroft for the final episode of Trespasses, her adaptation of the Louise Kennedy novel of the same name.
Joy Nesbitt won Best Short Film Script for The Knife; Rodney Lee received the Best Children’s & Young People’s TV Script Zebbie for The Unreal, season 2, episode 1; the Best Radio & Audio Drama Script award went to Peter Dunne for Spooky FM: Jingle Hells andnd Senta Rich received the Best Continuing Drama Script Zebbie for Fair City, season 36 episode 25.
The Writers’ Guild also presented two new Zebbie Awards this year, selected by industry juries. The Best Debut script award went to Ciara Ní É for Claonadh (An Inclination) and the Best Irish Language script award went to Sarah Gordon and Damian McCann for their feature film Aontas, which has also recently been selected by the Irish Film & Television Academy as Ireland's Oscars entry in the International Feature Film category.