Congratulations to each and every one of you.

 You have completed a script and sent it out into the world to be experienced by other people.

 Whatever happens next, that is a fantastic achievement.  Lots of people talk about ideas they have and plays they’re going to write.  You have done it.  You have made it to the end of this story. 

 Not only that, you have offered it and shared it with strangers.

 Everyone who reads for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is acutely aware of the hard work, time and dedication it takes to not only have an idea but commit that idea to paper, to think about how it might live on stage, to consider the characters and their lives and emotions, to ambitiously think about why this story has to be told now through the live medium of theatre and why this story needs to be shared with not only one imagination but thousands.

 Many of the previous winners of the Bruntwood Prize go on to read scripts for us – they have been in your shoes and know what it’s like to enter.

 Other readers are directors, many of whom have gone on to forge relationships with playwrights through the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting.

 We also have quite a few actors who read for the Prize – they know how important your words are and think carefully about how they inhabit the worlds you have crafted.

 I hope you can all feel a sense of achievement at the feat of completing the play and sending it in.  We all have the utmost respect for you, for your imagination, for your vision and for your dedication.

 We will continue to advertise other opportunities for playwrights on the website – so please do check back regularly.

 And we will announce the Longlist of Top 100 Plays on the website on Wednesday 27^th September.

 Thank you for your work – it’s now over to us!

Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting