What an honour it’s been to read so many beautiful, captivating, compelling and courageous scripts. We were blown away by the number and quality of submissions this year, making this years long listing harder than ever, and further proof of the wealth female identifying, playwriting talent. A huge thank you to every writer who submitted, we are deeply indebted to you for sharing your work, and a massive congratulations to this year’s long list.
We cannot wait to see how the next stages unfold.
The longlist in full:
- WORTHY WOMEN by Abi Zakarian
- Birdie by Alison Carr
- Girl Disappeared by Amy Ng
- Sunrise at Katavi Park by Ana Peralta
- To be a bat by Ariella Como Stoian
- Tap Root by Ashley Milne
- Cow and Pig by Ava Hickey
- Watching a Whale Fall by Ayse Evans
- Hello Charlie by Caoimhe Farren
- Stuff & Things & Junk & Belonging by Carley Magee
- Bellringers by Daisy Hall
- Children of the Night by Danielle Phillips
- Wonderkid by Eleanor Cartmill
- the thing about touch by elle van lil
- LUMIN by Emma Gibson
- WISHBONE by Esme Mahoney
- Pots and Pans and Prayers by Esohe Uwadiae
- PRIVATE ADULT THINGS by Georgia Green
- Dogs Don’t Do Wolves by Héloïse Thual
- Spooky Action at a Distance by Jess Edwards
- Thread by Jessica Siân
- The Bouncy by Joanne Gallagher
- An Unexceptional Mother by Judi Amato
- the light that blinds by Kaleya Baxe
- Watchdog by Kayla Feldman
- This is a Gift by Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir
- Cally by Laila Latifa
- the invisible by Linda Marshall Griffiths
- AHEMMAA (QUEENS) by Louisa Hayford
- You Are Now Approaching Brackham-Under-Sea. Please Dive Carefully by Lydia Sabatini
- Ask Her If She Still Keeps All Her Kings in the Back Row by Martha Watson Allpress
- very wet by Mary Higgins
- Great Mother – Iya Ayaba by Mojola Akinyemi
- The Stoor. by Morna Young
- Radiant Boy by Nancy Netherwood
- The Peace by Natalie McGrath
- Eleven at Night Somewhere Without You by Natasha Collie
- BLOOD PLAY by Rachel Mars
- Sweet Smoke by Roberta Livingston
- Non-Negotiable by Rosie Pierce
- Jicama by Sandy Foster
- Intelligence by Sarah Grochala
- Spirits by Sarah Sigal
- A Good Day Will Come by Sepy Baghaei
- The Angels Were Worms by Shaan Sahota
- King Troll (The Fawn) by Sonali Bhattacharyya
- Glass Houses by Sophie Jacome
- Nine Avalanches by Stella Green
- Small Talk. by Tiwa Lade
- Cambium Layer by Zoe Cooper
The Prize is for a full-length play (defined as over 60 minutes in length), written in English, and the winning playwright wins £12,000 in respect of an option for Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough to co-produce the winning play. The Prize is sponsored by Samuel French Ltd, a Concord Theatricals company, who are the official publishing partner of the prize, and by commercial theatre producers Fiery Angel. The Founding Sponsor is the leading recruitment agency, PER.
The judges for this year’s Prize, chaired by Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre Indhu Rubasingham, are journalist Samira Ahmed, playwrights April de Angelis and Chris Bush, actor Noma Dumezweni, literary agent Mel Kenyon, journalist and critic Anya Ryan, Head of Play Development at the National Theatre, Nina Steiger, and Guardian Editor-in-Chief Katharine Viner.
The shortlist will be announced in late November, followed by the finalist plays in December. The winner(s) will be announced at a ceremony in London in January 2024.