The Last Performance by Emma Strutt is highly commended by Niso Smith in the 2024 Author of Tomorrow, 16-21 Category. 

The Last Performance: It’s 1642 and the Roundheads have banned the theatre as sinful and corrupt. In the wake of their theatre’s destruction, young actor Robin and his company attempt to stage one final defiant performance. But time is racing and soon Robin will have to decide how many risks he is willing to take for his friends and for his art. 

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An interview with Emma: 

WNSF: What is your favourite book?

Emma: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren is a book I read repeatedly as a child and which still holds a special place in my heart. I love the feistiness and originality of her character.

WNSF: Who is your favourite author? Or one who has inspired you and why?

Emma: Eva Ibbotson I think has the most fantastic collection of children’s novels. They helped me get into reading when I was younger and now I aspire to write something as enchanting and captivating for young readers.

WNSF: What was your favourite subject at school?

Emma: I loved English literature as it gave me the opportunity to be creative and the confidence to form my own opinions. I am now studying it with Film at university. 

WNSF: What does ‘adventure writing’ mean to you? Why did you choose to try your hand at an adventure story?

Emma: Adventure writing complements other genres I enjoy such as fantasy and historical fiction, so I decided it would be fun to give it a go!

WNSF: If you could ask an author anything, what would you want to know?

Emma: How to write consistently enough to finish a novel, along with tips on how they plan and plot. I love to hear about authors’ different writing routines. 

WNSF: Who would you consider one of your heroes and why?

Emma: One of my real life heroes is my Grandma, I think she’s amazing and would love to be like her when I’m older. 

WNSF: What is the most adventurous thing you would like to do, or place you would like to visit and why?

Emma: The Amazon rainforest or the Norwegian fjords. 

WNSF: Where do you find inspiration for your stories? 

Emma: In this case, learning about a historical event inspired my story. However I am also inspired by fairy tales and folklore, by places I visit and by my childhood notebooks.  

WNSF: If you could time travel, where would you go and why?

Emma: I’m quite content in the 21st century! But if I did go back in time, I’d love to see an Elizabethan or Jacobean play performed in the round. 

WNSF: What three words would you use to describe your story? 

Emma: Defiance; friendship; theatre.