The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, the UK’s biggest playwriting competition based at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre, has opened for new entries.
Meanwhile, also in the Greater Manchester area, Bolton’s Octagon has announced a couple of new writing initiatives.
The Bruntwood Prize is a joint venture between the Royal Exchange and the family-owned property company of the same name.
Writers have until June 3 to submit their scripts which, unlike other competitions, are entered anonymously. Over the coming months, help will be at hand via the web site—www.writeaplay.co.uk—where previous winners and experts will be offering tips to playwrights, from writing Scene One to finessing the final act.
The winner will receive £16,000, making it the largest prize for playwrights in the UK. There will also be three Judges’ Awards of £8,000 each. All four winners will have the chance to develop their plays with the Exchange, with a view to production.
This year’s chair of judges, Dame Jenni Murray, comments: “Plays explore the great ideas of our time. Without discovering and supporting a new generation of playwrights, these stories might never be told.”
While Michael Oglesby, Chairman of Bruntwood, adds: “With continued cuts to arts funding, competitions like the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting are now more important than ever.”
Meantime, professional playwrights from across the country are invited to the Octagon for The Love Inn on Friday February 15—an overnight creative session that will allow playwrights to share ideas, tell stories and share inspiring experiences into the small hours.
Playwrights will arrive at the Octagon at 11PM and spend the night making work and generating new ideas. The following evening, bleary-eyed playwrights will be selected to share short pieces of work after the Octagon’s evening performance, Of Mice and Men.
The Octagon’s New Writing department, led by associate director Elizabeth Newman, is also looking for new writers to take part in The Best of Bolton.
It is an opportunity for some of the town’s best local writers to showcase their work and receive constructive feedback. Newman will choose a selection of pieces that she will then direct, using professional actors, in an Octagon Studio performance in April.
Details: www.octagonbolton.co.uk