Winner Announced for the 2017 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, Europe’s largest playwriting competition, has announced Timothy X Atack as its 2017 winner for his original play, Heartworm. Atack was awarded the prize by Chair of the judging panel and BBC presenter, Kirsty Lang, at a ceremony at the Royal Exchange Theatre on 13 November 2017.

Atack now joins the Bruntwood Prize’s prestigious alumni that includes leading UK playwrights such as Katherine Soper, Phil Porter, Duncan Macmillan, Alistair McDowall, Vivienne Franzmann and Anna Jordan.

Three Judges’ Prizes were also awarded at today’s ceremony to Tim Foley for his play Electric Rosary, Laurie Nunn for King Brown and to Sharon Clark for Plow. All four scripts will now enter into a development process with the Royal Exchange Theatre and Heartworm will be co-produced between the Royal Exchange and Royal Court. The Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) in New York will also be supporting the development of Tim Foley’s Electric Rosary.

Royal Court Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone commented:

“Following the huge success of both Wish List by Katherine Soper and Yen by Anna Jordan, it will be wonderful to work again with the team at the Royal Exchange Theatre to bring Tim X Atack’s beautifully haunting script to life. We felt Heartworm is a brilliantly unnerving and visceral piece of work by a distinctive and vividly theatrical voice.”

For full details of the prize and winners please see the press release here.