A veteran playwright won the Golden Inkwell award in this year’s Famous for 15 Minutes contest.

The Sandwich, about a woman pitted between her older and younger family members, is the eighth play Julia Pitt has submitted for the competition and the sixth to be chosen as a finalist and performed by the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society.

Ms Pitt, who won the Golden Inkwell with Justine Foster in 2014 and again in 2018, was hooked on playwriting after taking part in a workshop led by Tom Coash more than 20 years ago.

Mr Coash, who cofounded Famous for 15 Minutes, was the final judge in this year’s contest.

The plays were performed at Daylesford Theatre last month.

Ms Pitt, who began writing the piece in January, explained: “I hadn’t written anything for a long time and working on a 15-minute play – a shorter project, with a deadline – was exactly what I needed to get me out of my writing funk.”

She based the play, which featured an all-female cast, on what she saw many women dealing with; caring for older family members while raising children.

Ms Pitt said: “I wanted the play to ask the questions that lots of people don’t want to: what happens when we’re so old we can’t live the way we currently do? Do we have a plan in place?

“Do we have the money set aside to care for us, and, very importantly, who will that be?

“I think it’s noble to want to look after our parents ourselves … but the reality of caregiving can be time-consuming, disheartening and often does not end until it’s over.”

She said the play’s director Richie Lathan, who had help from Carol Birch, as well as performers Kate Farmer, Heather Conyers, Callie Lucas and Emma Muggleton “brilliantly mined all the jokes, sympathies and emotions and created these watchable, engaging humans living out a normal and hopefully relatable scenario.

“They found the laughs, and I have to admit, there is nothing more compelling than hearing an audience laugh at my jokes.”

Ms Pitt told aspiring playwrights that a 15-page work is a good way to start.

She explained: “We all have interesting characters in our lives or unusual situations … We can take those ideas, opinions and bits of inspiration and work them through, and see where they go. Your imagination is the only limit, and keep trying.”

Ms Pitt thanked several people for her win, including the Famous for 15 Minutes producers and production team and the BMDS.

She highlighted that many people and much work was required to put together contests that showcase artistic talent.

Ms Pitt added: “We are so lucky to have opportunities like this on the island and what a pleasure and joy it is to participate.”