Ended April 2019
1st prize Welcome to the Village by Ellie Taylor
Living Your Values production company hope to start with a rehearsed reading of this winning play.
The villagers of Hatton West are thrilled when their small Yorkshire home is awarded the prestigious title of âBritainâs Greatest Greenest Villageâ, and will be featured in Home and Garden magazine. But as competition rises amongst the residents for who will win the coveted spot, and be featured on the front cover of the magazine, the very qualities which won the residents their award â their sense of community, unity and neighbourly spirit â begin to be tested.
Tensions rise when Cherie dares to challenge the village stalwart, Mrs. Marsden, at the start of the annual Spring fĂȘte, a confrontation which forces Cherie to ask some very diïŹcult questions, about duty, sustainability and what really constitutes a good and healthy life. Still wracked with grief, and trying to recover from the death of her mum, Cherie seeks solace in the newest visitor to the village; the Home and Garden photographer, Philip.
Meanwhile, the simmering tensions in the village eventually boil over, resulting in a very diïŹerent act of âcommunity spiritâ. But as the dust settles, and relationships are repaired, the residents of Hatton West realise that their success is down to their togetherness, and that their futures lie not in themselves, but in the kindness, generosity and love of one another.
2nd prize Greener Pastures by Sally Lewis
The beef farm has been run by the family for generations, but now the father is dying its future is unclear. Should they develop the land, adopt the latest green innovations to create a diverse and sustainable environment or keep it as it is. As the family settles down to play their favourite Christmas game of Monopoly, the questions of land and who owns it and wins and who loses come starkly to the fore.
3rd prize. Â Going Wild by Peter Snoad
Small-town librarian Meredith Stafford and her husband Beau are losing the struggle for the perfect lawn. Invasive weeds and pesky moles have made an unholy mess of their front yard. Meredith decides to âgo wildâ, replacing the decimated lawn with a ânaturalâ landscape. Bees and other pollinators love it, but not everyone is thrilled. When sheâs fined for violating a local lawn ordinance, sheâs incensed: their son, Johnny, a Marine, gave his life in Iraq to defend their rights and freedoms.
Meredith decides to challenge the ordinance in court. While she loses the case, she becomes a social media sensation. And that launches her on a bizarre journey that shakes her faith in America as a bastion of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Unbeknown to Meredith, a multinational corporation allied with corrupt politicians is poised to make millions from marketing a highly toxic new lawn treatment called New Dawn. By spreading the âgo wildâ gospel, Meredith is seen as a threat â and she becomes the target of an orchestrated smear campaign. She is falsely accused of a staged terrorist attack on her own home. She loses her job. And she and is shunned by members of her church.
But with the aid of an environmental group and sympathetic neighbors, Meredith clears her name and helps expose the New Dawn scam. With the âgoing wildâ movement fast becoming a national phenomenon, Meredith and Beau give their now lush and wild front yard a new name: Johnnyâs Garden.
