American wins Theatre503 writing Award

Published: 22 November 2020
Reporter: Sandra Giorgetti

Pravin Wilkins, winner Theatre503 International Playwriting Award

The fourth biennial Theatre503 International Playwriting Award has been awarded to Pittsburgh-based Pravin Wilkins for his play Moreno.

Wilkins, who receives £6,000 and sees his play published and in production, is a writer of plays, poetry and fiction principally concerned with race and class struggle.

Moreno was selected from a shortlist made up of Terp by Ayad Andrews, Book of Esther by Gina Stevensen, Til Death Do Us Part by Safaa Benson-Effiom and For Unknown Reasons by Zoe Ashford Cooper.

In Wilkins's winning play, Luis Moreno is a star player of contemporary American football recovering from injury. Fellow player Colin Kaepernick took the decision to take a knee to protest police brutality against black people, but can Moreno make a stand?

The Theatre503 International Playwriting Award received more than 1,719 scripts submitted from playwrights based in 45 countries. To be eligible, a writer should not yet have had a full-length play produced professionally in a subsidised London or major regional or international venue for four weeks or more.

The judges' panel—chaired by Erica Whyman, chair of Theatre503 and deputy artistic director at the RSC—included producer Caro Newling, actor / director Daniel Evans, arts journalist and reviewer Sam Marlowe, playwrights Roy Williams and Vinay Patel and Theatre503 artistic director Lisa Spirling.

Moreno will be published by Samuel French Ltd.

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