The shortlist has been announced for the inaugural Victoria Wood Playwriting Prize for Comedy.

Sean Foley, Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre, announced the shortlist of eight new comedy plays, and the judging panel for the new Prize.

The Prize is dedicated to the art of Comedy writing, and is a partnership between the Birmingham Rep and The Victoria Wood Foundation, and is supported by BBC Comedy.

The Victoria Wood Foundation is a charity that was set up after the death of acclaimed and much-missed writer, actor, presenter and stand-up comedian Victoria Wood in 2016, by her friends to support the arts.

The shortlist of the eight plays is: Bring me the Head of Miriam Margolyes by Andrew Pollard; Hello Charlie by Caoimhe Farren; Bum by Ed Amsden and Tom Coles; Goodbye Suzzie Jenkins by Ben Callon; Reach for the Stars by Jenny Knotts; Portugal by Eugene O’Hare; Sidekicked by Patrick Maguire; and Fake Melania by Poppy Corbett.

Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood. Photo supplied by PR

The winner of the Prize will receive a special award designed and made in The Rep’s own workshops, and £25,000 (£15,000 of which is prize money, and £10,000 of which will be the play commission).

Four finalists will be announced on Monday 13 May 2024, and then the winner will be revealed at a ceremony at The Rep in Birmingham on Wednesday 15 May 2024.

The judges of the Prize are Sean Foley; BAFTA winning actor, comedian and friend of Victoria Wood, Daniel Rigby (Accidental Death of an Anarchist); BAFTA winning actor and broadcaster Siobhan McSweeney (Derry Girls); West End and Broadway producer Tegan Summer (Mozart Her Story); playwright Tanika Gupta MBE FRSL (The Empress); and TV producer and representative of the Victoria Wood Foundation, Piers Wenger (No Offence, Humans).

The project is led by award-winning live comedy director, dramaturg and comedy teacher, Dec Munro.

Daniel Rigby said in a statement: “I’m thrilled to be on the panel for the Victoria Wood Playwriting Prize. Victoria was a huge part of my life and a total inspiration, so it’s an honour. I’m also looking forward to reading some brand spanking new comedy voices for the theatre which are sorely needed.”

Tanika Gupta said: “I am delighted to be on the panel for the Victoria Wood Playwriting Prize. Victoria was an absolute comedic icon and her writing sparkled effortlessly with wit, wisdom and side-splitting humour. I look forward to reading some great new comedy writing for the stage.”

Sean Foley said: “It’s a personal thrill that The Rep created The Victoria Wood Playwriting Prize for Comedy in partnership with the Victoria Wood Foundation. To have a new major playwriting prize in our industry is cause for celebration itself – never has the need for supporting new plays been greater – but to have this Prize dedicated to the art of Comedy, perhaps the most underrated genre of all, is ground-breaking. A fitting tribute to Victoria Wood’s trailblazing comic talent, this is the first major playwriting Prize for narrative stage comedy in the world. The Rep is proud that the home of the Prize is in the UK’s most diverse and youngest city, the city of one of Victoria’s major collaborators, Dame Julie Walters, and the city of so many contemporary comedians and writers such as Sir Lenny Henry, Joe Lycett, and Meera Syal, CBE, FRSL. It is of course also the city where Victoria Wood herself went to university to study Drama. Of the twin masks of drama – Comedy and Tragedy – often the focus from our industry, across acting, directing and writing, is on the latter. The Rep has been a pioneering force in UK theatre for over 100 years, and with the creation of this Prize is once again opening up new possibilities… As a major theatre that celebrates the difficult art of making people laugh, we hope to become a national home for theatrical comedy – where writing, developing, and creating that art is taken seriously.”

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Main photo: Victoria Wood Playwright Prize for Comedy - Judges. Sean Foley, Siobhan McSweeney, Tanika Gupta, Daniel Rigby, Tegan Summer, Piers Wenger

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