Northern Irish director Emma Jordan wins Paul Hamlyn breakthrough award

Emma Jordan, artistic director of Belfast theatre company Prime Cut Productions, has been awarded £295,000 by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation breakthrough fund, which supports cultural entrepreneurs.

One of seven recipients this year, Jordan will use the money to develop both her own career and relationships with other artists and companies in Northern Ireland and internationally.

Last year, she collaborated with Bosnian theatre director Haris Pasovie to create The Conquest of Happiness, a large-scale performance for the Derry Capital of Culture programme, which was subsequently seen in Belfast, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, and Mostar.

Jordan described the award as “a fairy-wand scenario”.

She added: “£120,000 of the award has been set aside as a resource to encourage and help emerging theatre companies and artists’ development in Northern Ireland.”

There have been 15 breakthrough fund awards since 2008. Previous winners include Battersea Arts Centre, the Gate Theatre, Punchdrunk and Streetwise Opera.