Bruntwood Prize For Playwriting Ceremony to be Held in November

August is a time to celebrate the theatre; as the world's largest festival of theatre kicks off in Edinburgh preparations are well and truly underway in Manchester to announce the winners of Europe's largest playwriting competition, THE BRUNTWOOD PRIZE FOR PLAYWRITING. A partnership between Manchester family-owned business Bruntwood and the Royal Exchange Theatre, THE BRUNTWOOD PRIZE FOR PLAYWRITING will name its new winners on 17 November 2015 and also mark 10 exceptionally rewarding years of the competition.

With 1,938 entries this year an army of over 80 readers are currently reading each individual entry to create a long list of potential winners. In November a shortlist will be handed to this year's panel of judges chaired by Nicholas Hytner and including journalist Miranda Sawyer, actor Meer Syal, and former Bruntwood Prize winner Vivienne Franzmann. Vivienne said of moving from entrant to judge...

'Winning a Bruntwood prize completely changed my life. It gave me the chance to become a writer. I feel hugely honoured to be a judge for this year's competition. It is a real privilege to read the work of other writers and be part of changing the life of someone else.' Vivienne Franzmann

THE BRUNTWOOD PRIZE FOR PLAYWRITING has had a significant impact of the fabric of playwriting across the UK. Since launching in 2005 the prize has created 17 winners and awarded over £160,000 in prize money, we have developed 16 productions and partnered 30 UK theatres. Past winners include Duncan Macmillan whose critically acclaimed adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 (Headlong/ Nottingham Playhouse/ Almeida) is currently playing in the West End before beginning an international tour, Alistair McDowall whose play POMONA was an instant hit and Anna Jordan, whose play YEN was a 2013 prize winner and gained exceptional reviews for its premiere earlier this year.

Suzanne Bell, The Royal Exchange's Literary and New Writing Associate comments...

'2015 has been an extraordinary year for entries and as our readers work though the scripts it is obvious that the quality is outstanding. Through this prize we have discovered some truly stunning and exceptionally talented writers who have gone on to make waves both here in the UK and internationally. I am sure that this year will be no exception. The longstanding partnership between Bruntwood and the Exchange means we can support the winners both financially and with advice and mentoring allowing them to hone their craft and create brand new plays for British and international stages.'

Michael Oglesby, Chairman of Bruntwood, adds "Since we founded the Bruntwood Prize ten years ago it has grown into a prize of major significance. The writers who have won previously have gone on to great things and I hope we find more great talent this year."