The George Devine Award has revealed the shortlist for its 2023 awards, featuring nine playwrights.

The winner of this prestigious new writing award will receive a prize of £15,000 in support of their future as a playwright.

The nominees are: Georgia Bruce for Time, Like the Sea; Sami Ibrahim for NGO; Shahid Iqbal Khan for Djinnity; Somebody Jones for How I Learned to Swim; Tife Kusoro for G; Cordelia Lynn for Witch Play; Ava Pickett for 1536; Bea Roberts for Those Who (Are/Were) Left; and Sam Ward for Everything I’m Thinking All of the Time.

The George Devine Awards were established in 1966 in memory of the Royal Court’s founding Artistic Director George Devine, to shine a light on playwrights of promise.

Former winners include Tyrell Williams in 2022 for Red Pitch, and Emily White in 2021 for Atlantis, plus Alice Birch, Lucy Prebble, Daniel Ward and Diana Nneka Atuona.

The industry judging panel for 2023 is Nick Payne, Justin Audibert, Johnny Flynn, Nimmo Ismail, Rebekah Murrell and Roxana Silbert.

The winner will be announced next week.

Actor and 2023 Award judge Johnny Flynn said in a statement: ‘‘It has been an extraordinary privilege to read these plays and I have been bowled over by their inventiveness. Each one pushes the form in a totally unique way, and yet despite their extreme differences in style, it’s amazing to see common themes in many of them. Entertaining worlds filled with artificial intelligence, witches, power imbalances and social media out-of-control spanning nearly 500 years have led us to reconsider what it is to be human in 2023, and beyond. It makes me realise how lucky we are to have a culture of theatre in this country that is on the frontline of thought and ideas bringing us together as a society.”

More about the George Devine Award 2023 nominees

GEORGIA BRUCE
Georgia Bruce is a writer and actor from London. Time, Like the Sea was their debut play. They are currently developing work at Theatre503 and at the Almeida Theatre as part of the Genesis New Writers Programme.

SAMI IBRAHIM
Sami is a playwright from London. Credits include A Sudden Violent Burst of Rain (Paines Plough / Gate Theatre); two Palestinians go dogging (Royal Court), Metamorphoses (Shakespeare’s Globe / Seattle Rep), 50 Berkeley Square (Radio 4).

SHAHID IQBAL KHAN
Shahid Iqbal Khan’s work includes: Love Across The Ages (BBC Radio 4, Afternoon Drama) and 10 Nights (Bush Theatre). He is on the Almeida Theatre Genesis New Writers Programme and is also a recipient of the National Theatre’s Peter Shaffer commission with the Octagon Theatre, Bolton.

SOMEBODY JONES
Somebody Jones is a playwright and dramaturg, whose work celebrates and champions Black culture. In 2023, she won the Tony Craze Award for her play, ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD.

TIFE KUSORO
Tife is a Nigerian-British writer and performer. Her work has previously been shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon award, Verity Bargate award and the Women’s Prize for Playwriting.

CORDELIA LYNN
Cordelia received the Berwin Lee Award 2020 and the Pinter Commission 2017. Like Flesh, her opera with Sivan Eldar, won the Fedora Opera Prize 2021. She is currently on attachment at the National Theatre, and under commission to Headlong.

AVA PICKETT
Ava Pickett’s work is for Stage and Screen. She was staff writer on Hulu’s The Great (series 3) and has written for Sky’s Brassic and is currently writing on Lisa McGee’s new comedy thriller for Channel 4. She was part of the Almeida Genesis Emerging Playwright’s programme for 2022.

BEA ROBERTS
Bea Roberts is a multi-award winning playwright and screenwriter from Devon. Plays include And Then Come The Nightjars, Infinity Pool and Ivy Tiller; Vicar’s Daughter, Squirrel Killer for the RSC.

SAM WARD
Sam Ward is a playwright and founder of theatre company YESYESNONO. In 2022 he was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award and is currently under commission to the Soho Theatre.

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Main photo: George Devine Award 2023 - Nominees: Clockwise from top left - Ava Pickett, Bea Roberts, Cordelia Lynn (photo by Helen Murray), Georgia Bruce, Sam Ward, George Devine, Sami Ibrahim, Shahid Iqbal Khan (photo by Tom Barker Photography), Somebody Jones, Tife Kusoro (photo by Andy McCredie)

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