Priyanka Shetty Wins Scotsman Fringe First Award for #CHARLOTTESVILLE at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Playwright and performer Priyanka Shetty has been awarded the prestigious Scotsman Fringe First Award for outstanding new writing for her solo play #CHARLOTTESVILLE at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The award, presented by actress Miriam Margolyes, is the longest-running and most coveted theatre honor at the Fringe. Past winners include Billy Connolly, Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge for Fleabag in 2013.

#CHARLOTTESVILLE chronicles the tragic events of August 11–12, 2017, when white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, for the “Unite the Right” rally, sparking violent clashes with counter-protesters, the death of Heather Heyer, and dozens of injuries. Constructed verbatim from over a hundred interviews, court transcripts, and news reports, the play has drawn comparisons to Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 and Leigh Fondakowski’s The People’s Temple.

Shetty, an MFA candidate at the University of Virginia during the events, wrote and performs the piece, which was directed by Yury Urnov, co-artistic director of Philadelphia’s Tony Award-winning Wilma Theater. Olivier, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning producer Richard Jordan joined the creative team beginning at the Fringe and will continue with upcoming UK, North American, and international touring. The Pleasance served as Associate Producer for the Edinburgh run.

Prior to the Edinburgh Fringe, the play was staged at Washington, D.C.’s Keegan Theatre, where The Washington Post’s Celia Wren praised it as “a methodical, stirring solo play” and “a reminder that theater can offer bracing ideas that help us navigate reality.” Following Edinburgh, #CHARLOTTESVILLE played two performances at Actors Theatre of Louisville on September 14. Additional national and international tour stops will be announced soon.

About Priyanka Shetty

Priyanka Shetty is an award-winning actor, playwright, and director based in Philadelphia. Her first solo play, The Elephant in the Room, has been performed across the U.S. and internationally, including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe, and made its Off-Broadway debut at 59E59 Theaters in New York City. #CHARLOTTESVILLE is the second play in Shetty’s planned “Triptych of Solos,” with a coordinated nationwide premiere in 2025–26.

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