Students win Edinburgh festival award

By Ian MacKenzie

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Students from York University won the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) Award on Wednesday for best work on the Fringe, including cash to help deliver a new theatre project for the world's biggest annual arts festival in 2009.

The Belt Up Theatre was formed in York in 2007 as a collective of students to produce "new writing, established texts, adaptations and installation pieces across the UK".

The award, which was established last year to encourage Fringe productions, provides 5,000 pounds towards a new project, which will be seen in development in the EIF's Behind the Scenes programme next year.

Belt Up Theatre's Fringe production this year, which caught the eye of the six judges, was The Red Room -- a combination of theatre, music, and more at their burlesque boudoir.

International festival director Jonathan Mills said there had been stiff competition for the EIF award this year, but The Red Room had stood out. He said it was "a very interesting concept and this young collective have theatrical integrity and passion".

An EIF official said the Behind the Scenes programme provided a platform for companies developing new work with an opportunity for feedback from an audience and support in development, as well as offering insights into the creative process behind festival events.

Long-time festival supporter Ewan Brown put up the award money.

(Editing by Matthew Jones)