Laura Waldren’s first full-length play has won her the 15th annual Papatango New Writing Prize.
Chosen from amongst 1,468 entries, Some Demon, set inside an eating disorder unit, will première next year at London's Arcola Theatre and will be published by Nick Hern Books.
Waldren will now enjoy a £7,000 commission with full developmental support for her work, and a royalty of 8% of the box office. A writer and actor, she is currently a writer in residence for Pentabus Theatre.
Laura Waldren has said “It’s a huge privilege—and a massive shock!—to have won. I entered the Prize hoping to get some feedback, and never expected in a million years this would happen. Eating disorders are still deeply misunderstood illnesses, and this has been a very difficult, personal but important play to write—I’m so honoured that Papatango have chosen to share it, especially given how hard it is right now for debut writers to get their work read, let alone produced.”
This year’s four shortlisted writers Piers Black (My Dad Hunts Bears), Georgia Green (Private Adult Things), Yolanda Mercy (Handsworth Boys) and Hannah Shury-Smith (Go Back Home!) each receive £500 with their plays digitally broadcast as staged readings.
Now in its 15th year, a new partnership between Papatango and Phil Temple at Birdie Pictures has offered an extra commission with support from the Genesis Foundation Prize.
This will go to Josh Barrow, who receives £2,500 to write a 10-minute short film.
All those who submit a script for the Prize receive feedback on their script, a unique feature of this playwriting award.