Cordelia Lynn awarded Royal Court's 2017 Pinter Commission
© Royal Court Theatre
Playwright Cordelia Lynn has been awarded the 2017 Pinter Commission, which will support a new play at the Royal Court.
The commission has been awarded by Harold Pinter's widow, Lady Antonia Fraser, for the last six years to a playwright to support a new work at the Court. There are no restrictions on the commission which can be awarded to a new playwright or an established one.
Lynn has taken part in the Royal Court Writers Group in the past, and in 2015 the theatre produced her work Lela & Co.
On receiving the commision, Lynn said: "I feel very nurtured, both by a sense of connection between a young writer who is just beginning and such a significant artist as Harold Pinter, and by the Royal Court for their support of me. I hope to write a play that speaks to them both."
Artistic director of the Royal Court, Vicky Featherstone, said Lynn is a "stunning new voice" in writing and she was confident the playwright will "give us a vital new play for our times".
She said: "Her precision, her tenacity, her wit and her extraordinary intellect mean that we are waiting with bated breath to see what she will write."
Lady Antonia Fraser added that the Pinter Commission is "exactly what Harold would have wanted", and that Lynn is a "welcome recipient" of the award.
In previous years, the commission has been awarded to Brad Birch, Rory Mullarkey and Nick Payne.
On Sunday, Featherstone won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy with Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, and yesterday the theatre announced a new temporary space, The Site.
