The Trustees are pleased to announce that the winner of the competition for a reading of Austen’s poem Venta is Robert Greenhalgh of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The runner up was Fenella Machin of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Their readings are available to listen to below, together with photos and brief biographies. The competition was open to students enrolled with colleges affiliated to the Federation of Drama Schools, and may be run again in 2026.
Winner: Robert Greenhalgh
Robert is currently studying on the BA Acting programme at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, commencing his studies in 2024.
He has followed a slightly unorthodox route into actor training, having worked in the NHS as a paediatric doctor for a nearly a decade. Although immensely grateful for his time in hospitals, his focus has firmly shifted into the performing arts, and he is relishing the opportunity to work professionally as an actor in the future.
Alongside this, Robert writes plays and poetry, and is a self-professed P.G. Wodehouse aficionado.
He dearly hopes that you enjoy his robustly Scottish take on Venta.
Runner Up: Fenella Machin
Nel is a writer and actor, graduating from the BA Acting course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Credits include: Diana in Tipping the Velvet, Elvira in Blithe Spirit, Nurse/Mrs Major/ Suffragette in Her Naked Skin, Angel in Into the Light, and Isabella in Measure for Measure.
Nel’s first original play Pine Needles – a dramatisation of the 2016 Brock Turner attempted rape trial – was first performed in 2017. Her writing has been broadcast on BBC Radio, and her latest play, girls, girls, boys, recently had a rehearsed reading at the Young Vic, and is currently being considered for programming in 2026.
Nel is delighted to have her reading of Venta showcased on the Jane Austen Society website, in celebration of Austen’s pioneering work.
