Major Scottish accolade for Lahinch writer

A NORTH Clare writer scooped two awards at the recent Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland.
Ursula Rani Sarma is a writer of Irish/Indian descent. She grew up in Lahinch and has been writing predominantly for theatre since graduating from University College Cork in 1999. Ursula co-founded Djinn Productions later that year and has directed several award-winning productions as artistic director of the company.
Currently resident in London, Ursula took the honours at the Scottish awards for her first Traverse Theatre Company commission, The Dark Things.
The production won Best New Play and Best Production at the awards presentation in Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre earlier this month.
The Dark Things received a total of six nominations for the CATS, including Best Director for Dominic Hill, Best Actor for Brian Ferguson, Best Actress for Suzanne Donaldson and Best Design by Neil Warmington and Lizzie Powell.
“It is especially nice to win a critics choice award. As an artist, you have a love-hate relationship with critics. Frequently, you can be quite frustrated by the standard of criticism. When you get a well-written review, it is great because it is the only feedback you get as a playwright. It is such a transient medium. It only exists for the duration of the production. I think the reviews that The Dark Things got were very positive and were particularly well written and they reflected the attempts that I was making to cover new ground.
“It was very satisfying for me to know the critics got that. It was wonderful to be acknowledged by them, especially when you are up against such talented people in each category. It is very affirming,” Ursula told The Clare Champion.
Ursula has received many awards for her plays prior to the CATS awards, including multiple Irish and UK Arts Council Awards, Irish Times/ESB Theatre Award, an Edinburgh Fringe Award, the Heidelberg Audience Award for Best Play and a 2006 BensheimerTheaterpreis amongst others. 
“I have had a number of awards dotted throughout my career. It is one of those things. I decided that if I was going to do something I would do it right and that is what I have been trying to do. I adore writing and anyone who gets to do a job that they love is very, very lucky,” Ursula remarked.
It has been a particularly busy year for the North Clare woman. In the past 12 months, Ursula has seen the premieres of three new plays, including Birdsong at The Abbey Theatre, The Dark Things at The Traverse Theatre and the American Premiere of RIOT in April of this year with the American Conservatory Theatre’s production in San Francisco. Her episode of RTÉ’s series RAW was aired in February and Ursula is currently developing a number of projects for the screen with companies such as Film 4 and The Bureau, including an adaptation of The Dark Things. She will be directing her first short film entitled The Woods this summer.
Ursula is also developing new plays for The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, and The Abbey Theatre amongst others. She is also working with artist Rosie Mc Gurran on an Irish Arts Council commissioned project about Inishlacken Island off the coast of Galway.
Presenting the award for Best Production, Mark Fisher of The Guardian said “The Dark Things presented not only an arresting script by Ursula Rani Sarma about the alienation of a cruel world, but also a strikingly good set of performances, great design and forceful direction by Dominic Hill.”
For those starting out and hoping to be successful in theatre, according to Ursula, talent alone doesn’t guarantee it.
“The arts has a lot of very creative people who don’t get the break. It is a mixture of having the talent, getting the break and a proactive gene for pushing through,” she claimed.
Ursula has just finished a residency at the National Theatre London and is currently working on an adaptation of the Spanish classic Yerma to be produced at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in March 2011 directed by Róisín McBrinn.