Please do look over the rules and FAQ’s even if you have applied before. We have made updates to the Prize categories for 2022.
Criteria
The Bruntwood Prize Award and Judges Award are open to anyone residing in the UK or Republic of Ireland or British Overseas Territory or with a British Forces Post Office address.
The Bruntwood Prize International Award is open to international playwrights invited to anonymously apply via our named international partners. We are afraid that no other international submissions can be considered at this time.
The North West Original New Voice Award and Residency is open to playwrights resident in the North-West of England* (where the Royal Exchange Theatre is based) We define the North West via the Arts Council England districts https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/Map_area_boundaries.pdf
Those playwrights based in the North West who self declare on submission they have not had full-length play professionally produced for 12 performances or more in a professional venue are eligible. All scripts entered by these playwrights are also eligible for the Bruntwood Prize, and Judges Award.
Entrants must be sixteen or over. There is no upper age limit.
Scripts must be submitted anonymously with no information included on the script other than its title. Please do not include pseudonyms on your script, or agents’ details.
We can only accept one entry per person. We do accept plays co-authored by more than one writer. Please ensure that only one entry is submitted with one set of contact details.
The entrant must exclusively own and control all copyright and all other related rights to the submitted script.
The submitted play must be available for production and unattached to any other theatre or company. Any scripts that have been professionally optioned, produced or published will be disqualified.
*The ACE define the North West as the following regions. You are eligible for the North West Award and Residency if you are based in one of the following places, and have not had full-length play professionally produced for 12 performances or more in a professional venue:
Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Cheshire, Cumbria, Hatton, Knowsley, Lancashire, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Sefton, St Helens, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington, Wigan, Wirral
Scripts
The play must be an original, unperformed and unproduced piece of work. ∞
The play must be an hour long or more in playing time. The best way to judge this is to read your script out loud. There is no upper limit to the length of your script.
We do not accept translations, adaptations for the stage of other pieces of work written by others, pantomime or musicals. We also do not accept plays written exclusively for younger audiences.
The entrant must exclusively own and control all copyright and all other related rights to the submitted script.
Please ensure your submitted script has a cover page with the title of the play and no other personal or contact information.
Other than making sure the submitted script contains the title of the play and no other personal or contact information, there are no rules about how your play should be formatted or how any of it should be laid out.
The submitted play must be available for production and unattached to any other theatre or company. Any scripts that have been professionally optioned, produced or published will be disqualified.
If you have won a prize in any previous Bruntwood competition, (excluding Commendations) you may not enter a script. However, you may enter if you have been shortlisted or longlisted in the past.
* We define resident through your ability to produce, if asked, proof of main address on a driving license, appropriate Inland Revenue document, or if not in possession of these, a phone bill with proof of address. A full list of British Overseas Territories can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Overseas_Territories
∞ Amateur performances do not apply. Unproduced means the play cannot have received a professional production in any form, anywhere in the world, apart from up to two rehearsed readings
Judging/Prizes
The deadline for entries for the Bruntwood Prize 2022 is Monday 6th June, 2022 at 6pm.
The Top 100 Feedback List of scripts will be announced on this website in September 2022. This list of top 100 entries will receive full written feedback on their work and our response to it. These writers will receive their feedback no later than the end of 2022.
We are unable to commit to notifying writers of their progress through the competition before these dates due to the changeable volume of entries affecting the reading timeline.
The Longlist is announced publicly on this website due to the anonymous nature of reading requiring all scripts and writers to remain under a pseudonym at this point. To ensure swift and clear communication with all entrants we will make Prize announcements directly here on the Bruntwood Prize site as we find many entrants choose to use a lesser used (or anonymous email) which can hamper or slow getting in touch with individuals.
Shortlisted writers will then be contacted via the telephone- please ensure you include an up to date and direct number with your submission.
Unfortunately, we are unable to give feedback on unsuccessful scripts which did not make it into the Top 100, due to the high number of entries we receive and our commitment to providing feedback as a constructive and full script report.
After the Award ceremony, all scripts awarded prizes are automatically under option to the Royal Exchange Theatre for a period of twenty four months after the announcement of the awards.
If a winning script is produced by the Royal Exchange Theatre, the prize money will replace all first production or development fees. However, the standard percentage of box office receipts and rehearsal attendance fees will still be paid to the writer.
Troubleshooting
If you’ve uploaded the wrong document or made a mistake in the entry process, please contact us at bruntwood.prize@royalexchange.co.uk. It’s best not to try and enter the Prize again, but to let us make any amendments at this end.
After you have successfully completed the entry process, you should receive a confirmation email from us to let you know your entry has been successful. This email may take an hour or so to arrive. If you haven’t received it do check your junk mail. You can also email us to get confirmation of your entry at bruntwood.prize@royalexchange.co.uk (please include your pseudonym and play title).
Only the Bruntwood Prize Co-ordinator can see the back end of the website and the email addresses used to submit, and they don’t read so as not to compromise the anonymity of the process. The readers and judges receive your TITLE ONLY anonymity script and no other submission details.
Please apply with an email address you regularly check.
Below is a list of common questions that we have been asked previously about the Prize and entering your play. We will update these as the competition continues, but if your question isn’t answered here, please contact us at bruntwood.prize@royalexchange.co.uk. This email address is checked within working hours, and a swift response will be made.