Shelagh Delaney, born 25 November 1938, brought a fresh and spirited voice to the 1950’s theatre scene; female, teenager, northern and working class she defied those attempted to pigeon hole her. Her first play A Taste Of Honey was directed by the renowned Joan Littlewood which was performed at the Theatre, Stratford it later transferred to the West End and then into a film.

The 1950’s was the start of theatre changing bring us the cultural revolution that was ‘Kitchen sink drama’ theatre that was much more accessible to the working class.

AWARD DETAILS

• The winning writer will receive a cash award of £3000.00
• The winning play will be fully produced and performed at Salford Arts Theatre
• Support and mentorship will be available to the winning writer

CRITERIA

• The award is open to those who identify as female and are living in, or are from, Greater Manchester
• At the submission stage, please submit either a first draft, a finished script or at least the first 15 pages of a script.
• The finished piece will need to be a minimum of 60 minutes (One Act Play) but can be more, with a minimum of two characters and a maximum of five characters.
• They are looking for new writing that is not connected, contracted, or committed to any other venue, creative team, or producer. The new work should not have had any previous productions, or plan to before the performance at Salford Arts Theatre.
• They are only accepting scripts for stage plays and are not looking for adaptations or translations of established works.
• The writers must hold all copyright and other related rights to the piece

Deadline 

3rd April 2023 – Submissions close

Shelagh Delaney New Writing Award (salfordartstheatre.com)