The Filipa Bragança Award will recognise the best female solo performance by an emerging artist on the Fringe.

Gilded Balloon are delighted to announce the shortlist for the inaugural Filipa Bragança Award, named in honour of the award-winning actress who died last year. This year’s nominees are as follows:

Apphia Campbell in Woke

Natasha Marshall in Half Breed

Selina Thompson in salt.

Suzanne Grotenhuis in On Ice

“The 70th Fringe has been a landmark year for the Festival, and a bumper year in particular for female solo artists, which has been reflected in phenomenal performances and a depth of thought in writing. I’m thrilled by this wonderfully diverse shortlist and cannot wait for the winner to be announced.”

– Karen Koren, Artistic Director of Gilded Balloon

Bragança, who starred in Henry Naylor’s critically-acclaimed and award-winning productions of Echoes (2015) and Angel (2016), was revered for her outstanding work both off- and onstage, as well as for the enormous impact of her life and career. In her name, The Filipa Bragança Award will endeavour to honour her legacy in the performing arts.

“This Award will be a great way of honouring a truly charismatic, intelligent, fun and spirited performer who had a passionate desire to improve society through art.” – Henry Naylor, playwright of Echoes and Angel

The recipient of The Filipa Bragança Award will be announced at the Scotsman Fringe Awards on Friday 25th August, 10am in the Pleasance Beyond. The Award will be presented to the winner by Henry Naylor, who worked in close collaboration with Filipa across a number of productions, festivals, and countries. A panel of esteemed Scottish-based theatre critics and arts writers made up the judging panel, including Joyce McMillan, Jackie McGlone, Thom Dibdin, Tim Cornwell and Mark Fisher, as well as actress Felicity Houlbrooke, who shared the stage with Filipa in 2015’s ‘Echoes’.

Congratulations to the nominees and good luck on Friday!