Royal Exchange's Bruntwood Prize goes on the road

Published: 4 September 2012
Reporter: David Chadderton

Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting roadshow

The Royal Exchange Theatre's Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, one of the richest playwriting competitions in the UK, is to go on the road before it opens for entries for 2013.

The 2013 prize, again sponsored principally by property company Bruntwood, opens for entries on 31 January 2013 and will offer a first prize of £16,000 and three judges prizes of £8,000 each. All four winners will get the chance to develop their scripts for possible production at the Royal Exchange, and those that are produced will be published by Nick Hern Books.

The roadshow will tour the UK in October and November 2012 with writing workshops from past winners of the prize Vivienne Franzmann (Mogadishu), Duncan Macmillan (Monster), Ben Musgrave (Pretend You Have Big Buildings) and Andrew Sheridan (Winterlong).

Sarah Frankcom, one of the Royal Exchange's joint artistic directors, said, "We are delighted to be launching a series of writing workshops in partnership with other theatres across the UK.

"The Royal Exchange Theatre and Bruntwood recognise the importance of supporting and celebrating the development of playwrights and this roadshow offers a fantastic opportunity for playwrights everywhere to discuss and develop their ideas with past winners of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting."

Beginning at the Bush Theatre in London on 2 October, the roadshow will visit Bristol Old Vic on 6 October, Birmingham Repertory Theatre on 13 October, Hull Truck Theatre on 20 October, Liverpool Playhouse Studio on 23 October, Tinderbox Theatre Company @ The MAC, Belfast on 24 October, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh on 27 October, Sheffield Theatres on 10 November, Clwyd Theatre Cymru, Mold on 15 November, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds on 17 November, Bush Theatre on 20 November, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester on 21 November and Live Theatre, Newcastle on 24 November.

Since it began in 2005, the Bruntwood, organised along similar lines to the Mobil Playwriting Competition at the Exchange in the 1990s, has awarded more than £120,000 in prize money. The 2011 winner Three Birds by Janice Okoh will be staged at the Royal Exchange in February 2013.

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