The third Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize launches today (Tuesday 15th May 2018), with writers invited to submit their comedy scripts for a chance to win £10,000 and have their play brought to life.
Providing a platform for new comedy plays and writers, the competition is the second largest national playwriting contest in the UK. Scripts must be original and unperformed, but writers of varying experience are welcome to enter.
The competition is a collaboration between Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre and Liverpool Hope University. A sizeable prize of £10,000 will be offered to the playwright of the winning script, with a further cash prize for highly commended runner/s-up.
Since 2015, The Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize success stories include winners and highly commended writers who go on to have their plays commissioned at theatres and auditoriums across the UK.
Last year, writer and actor Simon Bradbury was announced as the winner for his play The Last Act of Love of J B Moliere. The Royal Court is currently in discussions with a number of venues about producing the play.
Highly commended finalist Gerry Linford’s comedy play from 2017, now entitled The Miracle of Great Homer Street, will run at The Royal Court this June and stars one of the Playwriting Prize 2017 judges; comedian and actor Les Dennis.
The new judging panel for 2019 includes; Maurice Bessman, celebrated script writer and playwright, journalist and reviewer Catherine Jones, John Godber OBE and well known actor/comedian Les Dennis.
Liverpool Hope University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Gerald Pillay said: “The Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize is multi-faceted, with Drama, English and Creative Writing academics at the university coming together to support this competition, each valuing comedy as an art form. We are pleased to be partnering with The Royal Court Theatre once again in the search for talented writers.”
The deadline for entries is Sunday 22nd July. All reviewing and selection will be refereed anonymously. Entrants must be over the age of 18 and reside in either the UK or the Republic of Ireland. The winner and runner/s-up will be revealed at a ceremony, which will take place on Monday 1st April 2019.