Last Call For Comedy Scripts For £10,000 Liverpool Hope National Playwriting Prize

The deadline for the third Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize is fast approaching as all scripts must be uploaded by Sunday 22 July.

Writers who submit their comedy scripts will have the chance to win £10,000 with a potential opportunity to bring their play to life on stage.

The Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize is the second largest national playwriting competition and provides a great platform for new comedy plays and writers across the UK.  Scripts must be original and unperformed but writers of varying experience are welcome to enter.

The competition is a collaboration between Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre and Liverpool Hope University. A sizeable prize of £10,000 will be offered to the playwright of the winning script, with a further cash prize for highly commended runner/s-up.

Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize Awards.Royal Court Theatre 27.3.17

Since 2015, The Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize success stories include winners and highly commended writers who go on to have their plays commissioned at theatres and auditoriums across the UK.

Last year, writer and actor Simon Bradbury was announced as winner of The Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize for his play ‘The Last Act of Love of J B Moliere’. The Royal Court is currently in discussions with a number of venues about producing the play”

Highly commended finalist Gerry Linford’s comedy play from 2017, now entitled “The Miracle of Great Homer Street” recently ran at the Royal Court starring one of the Playwriting Prize 2017 judges, comedian and actor Les Dennis. More than 15,000 people saw the show during its four week run.

Comedian and writer Katie Mulgrew, the winner of the first Playwriting Prize in 2015, had her play ‘Omnibus’ commissioned last year at The Unity Theatre, while plays by the runners-up for that same year ran at the Park Theatre in London and the Capstone Theatre in Liverpool.

Hope PP winner 2015 Katie Mulgrew

The new judging panel for 2019 includes; Maurice Bessman, celebrated script writer and playwright, journalist and reviewer Catherine Jones, John Godber OBE and well known actor/comedian Les Dennis.

Royal Court Executive Producer, Kevin Fearon, will also be on the judging panel for 2019 and commented, “We have been delighted to be involved with the Playwriting Prize for the last four years. We have seen a huge number of entries for both of the previous competitions from all around the country and we are looking forward to doing it all again. The quality of the scripts has meant that the judging is always a difficult process but it means that the very best are chosen for the award.”

Last year over 200 scripts from across the UK were submitted for the prize, Liverpool Hope University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Gerald Pillay said:

“The Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize is multi-faceted where Drama, English and Creative Writing academics at the university come together to support this competition, each valuing comedy as an art form. We are pleased to be partnering with The Royal Court Theatre once again in the search for talented writers.”

The deadline for entries Sun 22^nd July. All reviewing and selection will be refereed anonymously. Entrants must be over the age of 18 and reside in either the UK or the Republic of Ireland.

The winner and runner/s-up will be revealed at a ceremony, which will take place on Mon April 1st 2019.