Finalists announced for 2023 Women’s Prize for Playwriting

The Women’s Prize for Playwriting has unveiled the five finalist scripts for its 2023 edition, chosen from a pool of 1,002 entries.

The prize aims to support exceptional playwrights who identify as female or non-binary. It recognises a full-length play written in English, with the winning playwright receiving £12,000 for an option by Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough to co-produce the play.

Sponsored by Samuel French Ltd and Fiery Angel, the founding sponsor is the recruitment agency PER.

The inaugural year saw two first prizes awarded to Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me by Amy Trigg and You Bury Me by Ahlam. In 2021, Consumed by Karis Kelly secured the winning title, with its production currently in development.

The winner(s) of the 2023 prize will be announced at a ceremony at the London Library on 19 January, 2024.

The panel of judges, chaired by National Theatre’s next director Indhu Rubasingham, includes 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 five finalist plays are:

1. Bellringers by Daisy Hall
2. LUMIN by Emma Gibson
3. Intelligence by Sarah Grochala
4. The Angels Were Worms by Shaan Sahota
5. King Troll (The Fawn) by Sonali Bhattacharyya

Ellie Keel, founder director of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, today said: “After 1002 submissions and an incredibly strong longlist and shortlist, it feels slightly surreal to have reached this final stage! The depth and breadth of all five plays is incredibly impressive, and I cannot wait to hear the judges’ thoughts on them in January.

“At WPP we feel incredibly lucky to be working with writers at the very top of their game in terms of craft and concept. Choosing one winner will be very hard, but I hope and believe that all five plays will have a future life. Theatres, directors, producers – please read these plays and meet the writers, who are all brilliant.”