Carmel ThomasonIn difficult times we can all do with a laugh to lighten our spirits. And the Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize is offering £10,000 for a winning comedy script.
The competition, now in its fourth year, is the second largest national playwriting competition and provides a great platform for new comedy plays and writers across the UK.
Previous winners include Katie Mulgrew, Simon Bradbury and last year’s winner, Colin Downland whose script ‘Headless’, set in a primary school on the morning of an Ofsted inspection, is now in development with Liverpool’s Royal Court.
In addition to the winner’s prize of £10,000, further cash prizes are available for commended scripts. Gerry Linford, who picked up a highly commended award, for his play, ‘The Miracle of Great Homer Street’ has since gone on to write three new plays produced by the Royal Court with a fourth planned.
Royal Court Executive Producer Kevin Fearon is looking forward to judging the competition. “We have been delighted to be involved with the Playwriting Prize since it began in 2015,” he says. “We have seen a huge number of entries for the previous competitions from all around the country and we are looking forward to doing it all again. The quality of the scripts has meant that the judging is always a difficult process but it means that the very best are chosen for the award”.
Other judges joining Kevin on the panel this year include: Dr John Bennett from Liverpool Hope University; writer Maurice Bessman; comedian and actor Les Dennis; talent agent Kate Haldane from PBJ Management, and Out of Joints Artistic Director, Kate Wasserberg.
Judges are looking for new full-length scripts for no more than 8 actors, with a story that has comedy at its heart. The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18 who lives in the UK or Republic of Ireland who has an original comedy script that hasn’t previously been performed.
The deadline for entries is 31 May 2020 and the winner and runner/s-up will be revealed at a ceremony in April 2021.
“There are huge numbers of people from all industries who know that they have a book, a song or a play in them and we are already seeing that creativity coming to the fore on social media,” Kevin adds. “Can you imagine if you took this time to get that play down on paper and it ended up winning you £10,000?”
For more details of the competition and how to enter visit www.playwriting prize.com
Jordon Francis
Reece Donlan