Pentabus's Elle While wins BAFTA
Last night at the BAFTA TV awards, Pentabus Artistic Director Elle While won in Children’s: Scripted for her work directing Cbeebies As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Hereford resident Elle While, Artistic Director of Shropshire touring powerhouse Pentabus, commented: “I am absolutely buzzing. To get the chance to celebrate work that is created for the youngest of audiences, and to champion bringing the magic of live theatre to every household in the UK is truly a privilege.”
Children’s: Scripted is a new BAFTA category that celebrates the best of children’s television. Elle While directed As You Like It alongside Geoff Coward, and it stars Sid Sagar as Orlando, Rebecca Keatley as Rosalind, and Justin Fletcher as Duke Senior.
The retelling, aimed at younger audiences, tells the story of the Globe being taken over by Archibald Forest, played by Cbeebies’ Andy Day, and William Shakespeare and his players trying to stop it being turned into a skyscraper by convincing Archibald that plays are fun by staging As You Like It.
It was broadcast on Cbeebies and is currently available on iPlayer:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001ksyt
This is the third year in a row Elle While has won awards for directing digital theatre that is freely accessible online. In 2023 Pentabus’ production of Tom Powell’s The Silence and the Noise won Best Film and Best Actor at the Broadstairs International Film Festival, in 2024 it won an Off West End Award for Best Online Production, and Elle directed the fellow Off West End Finalist DESTINY by Florence Espuet-Nickless. Both were co-produced with Rural Media and directed alongside Rachel Lambert.
Pentabus has had other recent digital success in creating widely accessible online work. Its National Young Writers programme has released digital shorts which have had over 500,000 views on TikTok alone. They’re available on Rural Media’s ArtFlicks channel.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office was a big winner on the night, winning Best Limited Drama at the BAFTA TV Awards, alongside a special award given to ITV for commissioning the show. Elle While directed Make Good: The Post Office Scandal, which took the story of this grave miscarriage of justice to village halls and theatres around the country last year, in musical form, created by Jeanie O’Hare (book), Jim Fortune (music and lyrics) and Maimuna Memon (additional music).
Verity Overs-Morrell, Pentabus Executive Director, added: “We are absolutely delighted for Elle on this well-deserved BAFTA win. She’s a remarkable director whose commitment and passion for new and bold theatre shines through in everything she does. Whether bringing stories to life on stage or making them accessible to audiences across the UK through digital work, her work is truly inspiring. We couldn’t be prouder at Pentabus HQ.”
