Prestigious theatre award for Queen Mary arts experts

Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw were honoured with the ATHE's Ellen Stewart Career Achievement in Professional Theatre Award at a ceremony on Friday (5 August 2022). Judges awarded the prize in recognition of their "superlative contributions to the field, sustained excellence during their career, innovative work that has established new frames of reference, support for diversity in theatre, and service and advocacy on behalf of fellow theatre artists".

As well as being our Professor of Contemporary Performance, Lois Weaver is an artist, activist and facilitator. Peggy Shaw is an actor, writer and producer, as well as being an honorary Queen Mary graduate (D.Litt 2017) and our former artist-in-residence (2010). The pair co-founded the gender-bending feminist theatre company Split Britches and the WOW Café performance space for women and/or trans artists. 

The award is named in honour of American theatre director Ellen Stewart’s legacy to the profession and the academy. She was a great longtime supporter of Split Britches, including at LaMama Etc in New York, making the award especially meaningful to Lois and Peggy.