As previously reported, a national writing competition was arranged last year to find new work to be performed by last casts of youth theatre groups.
After several rounds of judging by representatives of the orangising bodies, Salisbury Playhouse, Nick Hern Books, theatre company Out of Joint, BBC Writersroom and the National Association of Youth Theatres plus teams of young people, Fiona Doyle's play was selected from more than 60 submissions.
Doyle receives the £1,000 seed commission and will be supported during her development of the script leading to workshops and then a rehearsed reading.
Thirty-four year old Fiona Doyle has said of the win, “This is really unexpected. I’m totally thrilled. I’ve only been writing seriously since 2012 and this is the best thing to happen with my work since then.
"I am currently based in both Kerry and London so that I have time devoted to my writing. Winning A Play for the Nation’s Youth is a clear example of how this is working for me”.
The winning piece, SO Gay, concerns the challenges of growing up amongst a group of teenagers and is described by Artistic Director of Out of Joint, Max Stafford-Clark, as "a good, gritty, original play for young people, written in and about the here and now".
Urban Legend by Richard Walls, Simeon by Liz Fisher-Frank and Wilde at Heart by Jon Boustead received commendations.