Winners of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2025

On Monday 21^st July 2025, Manchester Theatres attended the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2025 Awards Ceremony at The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.  This was a celebratory year for Bruntwood as they rejoiced in their 20^th anniversary, a year that saw over 2’000 people entering the prize.  This is a powerful testament to the importance of the need for new stories to be told through a variety of dynamic and unique voices.

Fifteen writers were shortlisted for the awards, and the audience were treated to three minute extracts of each play.  The 15 shortlisted plays were SHOOTERS by Tolu Okanlawon, THE PLAN by Mary Elizabeth Hamilton, R LADY’S by Daisy Miles, THE ANNUNCIATION by T. Adamson, TRIM PALACE by Courttia Newland, VOYAGERS by Ava Wong Davies, GOLF GIRL by Seayoung Yim, CORPSELIGHT by Daniel Grimston, PRZEWALSKI’S HORSES by Silva Semerciyan, CIZINESS by Julia Jarcho, TALKING TO BOYS by Abbi Greenland, DOG DOG DOG by Terri Jade Donovan, DREAM BODY by Natasha Collie, RITE TO PARTY by Yasmine Dankwah, and SPREAD by Jesus I. Valles.

The award ceremony was hosted by Manchester icon and actor Julie Hesmondhalgh, with welcome notes from Selina Cartmell - Artistic Director of The Royal Exchange Theatre, and Chris Oglesby – Chief Executive of Bruntwood.  Chair of the Judges, journalist and broadcaster, Naga Munchetty spoke of the wealth of writing submitted and the difficulty in choosing the winners from such exquisite work.  The longstanding relationship between the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, The Royal Exchange Theatre, and The Oglesby Charitable Trust has attracted playwrights from across the country and indeed across the globe, producing 27 Bruntwood Prize winning plays across the UK and globally, with over 17’000 original scripts being entered for submission over its 20 year history.

The judging panel, headed by Naga Munchetty, included Bruntwood Prize winning playwright Phoebe Éclair – Powell, playwright and director Conor McPherson, Kiln Theatre’s Artistic Director Amit Sharma, actors Shobna Gulati and Cherylee Houston, writer and comedian Munya Chawawa, and Artistic Director of The Royal Exchange Selina Cartmell.

The winners for The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2025 were:

Bruntwood Prize For Playwriting – SHOOTERS by Tolu Okanlawon, Bruntwood Prize for North West Original New Voice – R LADY’S by Daisy Miles, Bruntwood Prize Commendation for North West Original New Voice  - DOG DOG DOG by Terri Jade Donovan, Bruntwood Prize Judges Award – PRZEWALSKI’S HORSES by Silva Semerciyan, and Bruntwood International Prize – SPREAD by Jesus I. Valles.

As The Royal Exchange Theatre approaches its 50^th year, it is thrilling to see their commitment to nurturing new voices that will continue to shape the future of British Theatre.

WATCH OUR INTERVIEWS WITH THE WINNERS