Verity Bargate Award shortlist announced

The shortlist has been announced for this year's Verity Bargate Award.

The biennial competition recognises new plays by emerging UK and Irish writers, picked from 1064 submissions.

This year the winner of the award will be chosen from a shortlist of six plays which include Antlers by Patrick Russell, City Song by Dylan Coburn Gray, Drip Feed by Karen Cogan, Es and Flo by Jennifer Lunn, Hegemon Speak by Titas Halder, The Life of Stancliffe Riley by Frazer Flintham.

As well as the Verity Bargate Award, this year there will be the Character 7 Prize which will be awarded to one of three on a shortlist including Deepa the Saint by Sonali Bhattacharyya, Sucker by Nessah Muthy and The Hoes by Ifeyinwa Frederick.

The Verity Bargate Award and Character 7 Prize will be announced with the Tony Craze Award (formerly the Soho Young Writers' Award) on 27 October. The shortlist for the Tony Crazy Award is Antler by Patrick Russell, Soft Animals by Holly Robinson, The Funeral Director by Iman Qureshi, The Hoes by Ifeyinwa Frederick, Wind Bit Bitter, Bit Bit Bit Her by Sami Ibrahim.

The Verity Bargate Award has been running since its launch in 1982 and is named after the Soho Theatre Company co-founder. Judges for the 2017 Verity Bargate Award this year include Meera Syal (actress and writer), Graeme Farrow (artistic director, Wales Millennium Centre), Emma Rice (artistic director, Globe), Matt Trueman (WhatsOnStage theatre critic and journalist).

Previous winners include Sean Buckley, Tony Craze, Insook Chappell, Thomas Eccleshare, Fraser Grace, Bonnie Greer, Gillian Plowman and Judy Upton.