Playwright wins award for Strike!

Winnipeg playwright Danny Schur was a top winner at the Kobzar Literary Awards in Toronto for Strike!, a musical about the infamous 1919 Winnipeg general strike.

Schur shared the $25,000 award with co-winner Victoria, B.C., novelist Laura Langston at the gala event held in Toronto Thursday. The inaugural award recognizes writing about Canadian and Ukrainian themes.

"It's extremely gratifying to me that it's more universal than just a Winnipeg thing, you know," says Schur.

"And there was talk of how universal and wonderful the work was, which is just, I mean, I was crying for joy it was so gratifying. So, it's just a wonderful thing."

Last summer, more than 24,000 people saw the play at Kildonon Park. Schur is now working on a film version of the play. In September, Strike! will open in Saskatoon, and Schur is hoping to take it to Toronto.

Schur welcomes the critical praise as well as the money, but says the intangibles of the gala event were even more valuable.

"Most importantly, whether it won or not, just sitting at that table in Toronto, there was enough interest around the table to spearhead a movement to assist me in producing it in Toronto," says Schur.