The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is open to anyone aged 16+ in the UK, Ireland and the British Territories with a story to tell. The biennial prize is a partnership between property company Bruntwood, a major supporter of the arts, and world-class producing theatre, the Royal Exchange Theatre, in Manchester.

The Bruntwood Prize is now recognised as a launch-pad for some of the country’s most respected and produced playwrights and screenwriters. The judging process is completely anonymous, meaning each entry will be judged entirely on its own merit. Winning plays are selected across four categories, with each winner entering into a development process with the Royal Exchange Theatre in an endeavour to bring their work to production. This year also sees the introduction of a new category: the North West Original New Voice Award and Residency, in recognition of the Prize’s Manchester home.

The Bruntwood Prize is looking for full length scripts written for the stage. The play must be an original, unperformed and unproduced piece of work. They do not accept translations, adaptations for the stage of other pieces of work written by others, pantomime or musicals. They also do not accept plays written exclusively for younger audiences.

Categories

• The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting– £16,000

• The Judges Award– £8000

• The Bruntwood Prize International Award- £8,000. Introduced in 2019, this sister prize is open to international playwrights who can apply through our partners

o Atlantic Theatre (New York, USA)

o Berkeley Rep (Berkley, California, USA)

o Australian Plays Transform (Carlton, New South Wales, Australia)

o Melbourne Theatre Company (Melbourne, Australia)

o Canada Banff Playwrights Laboratory (Banff, Canada)

• This year also sees the introduction of a new category: The North West Original New Voice Award and Residency. In recognition of the Prize’s Manchester home and to enable us to work closely with the winning playwright, this year the winner must be from the North West of England and have not had a full-length play professionally produced for 12 performances or more in a professional venue. In addition to winning £8,000, they will also access an additional £10,000 fund dedicated to their professional development at the Royal Exchange Theatre during a bespoke one year residency.

Each winner will enter into a development process with the Royal Exchange Theatre in an endeavour to bring their work to production.

KEY DATES:

Applications close at 6pm on June 6th 2022

All further information and to apply please go to www.writeaplay.co.uk