The Royal Exchange Theatre and Susan Hodgkiss are excited to announce the launch of the Hodgkiss Award 2018. The prize, which was last awarded in 2016, will support the realisation of a brand new piece of ambitious theatre made by an artist or company from the North of England.

Building on the legacy of the 2016 Prize and in direct response from artists feedback, we are delighted to be working with The Yard, London and ARC Stockton on the 2018 Prize. The Yard and ARC Stockton will be key partners during the selection process and the winning production will transfer to both venues following its premiere at the Exchange, allowing the work further development, audience and critical reach.

Eligibility

The Award is for an exceptional artist or company based in the North of England who has a bold, original idea for a piece of live performance-based work. The winning idea will be inventive, urgent and unconstrained by pre-existing notions of what theatre can be. It will premiere at the Royal Exchange Studio in 2019, and therefore should be original, unperformed and unattached.

The Award is open to theatre-makers over the age of 18 based in the North – “North” is defined by the Arts Council England’s regions of the North and includes North West, North East and Yorkshire. Applicants must be based in this region and making work in this region. Applications can be received from individual artists or from groups of artists.

The recipient of the 2018 Hodgkiss Award will receive

– A £4,000 prize

– A year of supported development of the work with paid R&D opportunities at the Royal Exchange and ARC Stockton

– Budget and support to realise the production at the Royal Exchange’s Studio Theatre in Spring/Summer 2019

– A supported transfer of the work to The Yard and ARC Stockton in Spring/Summer 2019

– An artistic mentor

– Producing support throughout from the Royal Exchange and the support and guidance of the Exchange’s marketing, development, dramaturgical making and technical departments

“We learned a lot from having The Hodgkiss Award. It enabled us to make a large visual piece of theatre in a prestigious venue. We were able to take big risks without financial repercussions and reach a larger audience base than we would have been able to do on our own. It enabled us to think bigger and with more confidence about the work we make. We learned discipline and how to mediate between ourselves as a company. We learned what our limits are in theatre making. We learned how to fit into a big theatre without losing ourselves, and to be more sure of ourselves and the work we’re making. We learned a lot of things about trust, in ourselves as individuals and as a company.”
Powder Keg, Hodgkiss Award winners 2016

Deadlines

20 May 2018

Selection day: 16 June 2018

For more information and to apply please go to https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/hodgkiss-award