The Stage

Musgrave wins inaugural Bruntwood playwriting prize

Published Monday 18 September 2006 at 17:55 by Alistair Smith

Ben Musgrave has been announced as the winner of the inaugural Bruntwood Playwriting Competition for his play Pretend You Have Big Buildings.

Musgrave receives £15,000 prize money and will have his play produced in Manchester Royal Exchange’s main house. He has previously written for the Etcetera Theatre in Camden and ADC Theatre in Cambridge and worked as a script reader for the Soho Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Paines Plough, Theatre 503 and the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch.

Meanwhile, runner up Duncan Macmillan received £10,000 as well as a £5,000 writer in residency bursary for his play Monster, which will be produced in the Exchange’s studio. Phil Porter was placed third for The Cracks in My Skin, Matt Hartley picked up the Under 26 award for Sixty Five Miles and Ian Kershaw won in the North West category for Candyland. All three will receive £5,000.

Actress Brenda Blethyn served on the judging panel alongside former culture secretary Chris Smith, playwright and actor Kwame Kwei-Armah, National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner, Bruntwood chairman Michael Oglesby and Royal Exchange artistic director Braham Murray.

She commented: “We have to applaud the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester for holding this competition because the future of our theatre depends on new writing. It was a pleasure to be included in the selection process. Choosing the winning three was difficult because all of the ten plays submitted for consideration by the panel were excellent, with themes ranging from sexual disorientation, frustration, intolerance, change, loss, celebration, embarrassment, racial harmony and disharmony, and optimism.

“But the winning play Pretend You Have Big Buildings is an exceptional play. It is an original, sophisticated, intelligent, clear observation on practically all of the above, tragic, embarrassing, funny, forgiving but ultimately healthily optimistic. And hugely entertaining.”

The competition has been dubbed as ‘the Booker of the theatre world’ and is open to writers of all ages and experience. Selection is completely annonymous, allowing novices and professionals to compete side by side.