One hundred and fifteen plays made it through three rounds of reading to the Bruntwood Prize Longlist. As the Longlist is announced prior to the final Judges meeting to decide upon the winners of the Bruntwood Prize the Longlist announcement remains anonymous.

By the end of 2019- all Longlisted writers have received a script report and there’s no longer any need to stay anonymous. It’s always wonderful to finally get to know the Longlist and see how their work develops!

Have you had a longlisted play go into production? Get in touch with Bruntwood Prize Co-ordinator Chloe Smith on chloe.smith@royalexchange.co.uk. I can provide marketing support here from the Bruntwood Prize platforms. 

the boy with the bee jar- By John Straiton 

Hope Theatre, London 

29 june – 17 july, 7pm

“Sealed in this little space. I’m not sure who’s watching who. Who’s the keeper who’s kept. This world is so tiny.”

On a North London estate, a swarm of bees attracts an environmentally minded schoolboy who feels lost now that his father’s no longer around. In the estate’s playground, he is drawn to an old anarcho-punk called Euston, who is the sole witness to a horrific crime. As the city and its residents tear one another apart, these two misfits form an unexpected alliance, as they realise that each holds the key to the other’s salvation. “I don’t want to celebrate this. This thing we share. This lacking. This shame. This inability to do the right thing that should come easy as waking.” “Easy as sleep.”

John Straiton’s darkly lyrical play explores a fleeting moment of connection between two very different people, and the surprising bonds forged in times of loneliness. The Boy with the Bee Jar was long-listed for the 2019 Bruntwood Prize.

The Hope Theatre is a multi award winning 50-seat venue above the world famous Hope and Anchor pub. 207 Upper Street, Islington, London, N1 1RL

https://www.thehopetheatre.com/productions/the-boy-with-the-bee-jar/