The fourth Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize sees writers invited to submit their comedy scripts for a chance to win £10,000 and a potential opportunity to bring their play to life on stage.
It’s the second largest national playwriting competition and provides a great platform for new comedy plays and writers across the UK. Scripts must be original and unperformed but writers of varying experience are welcome to enter.
The competition is a collaboration between Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre and Liverpool Hope University. The sizeable prize will go to the playwright of the winning script, with a further cash prize available for other scripts that the judges commend.
Success stories include winners and highly-commended writers who go on to have their plays commissioned at theatres and auditoriums across the UK.
Last year’s winner was Colin Dowland, whose Headless is still in development with the Royal Court. Set in a primary school on the morning of an Ofsted inspection, chaos reigns as the head is found locked in the toilet with a bottle of whiskey.
In 2017, writer and actor Simon Bradbury won with The Last Act of Love of J B Molière and the 2015 winner was Katie Mulgrew with Omnibus.