As the Bruntwood Prize Co-ordinator- I get questions from people interested in the Prize to bruntwood.prize@royalexchange.co.uk. In the run up to the June 6th- 6pm deadline I’ll address a few of the most frequently asked questions here

‘What should my script look like? Does it need to be a particular format?’

While we do not accept musicals, translations or works for children and accept full length plays, there’s no criteria for your scripts content, format or structure.

To enter- all you need is a script containing no identifying details saved as a pdf, word or doc.x format.

Our entry form will ask for some contact details, and a confirmation of your eligibility for the North West Original New Voice Award- you need to answer these questions to be considered for the Prize and proceed with the form.  All scripts are submitted under a pseudonym on the form- at no point will this website ask for your real name. Scripts remain entirely anonymous throughout the judging process. We also ask that scripts themselves be left blank- with no pseudonym included on the title page.

We also do not judge script on whether they are very polished or ready for the stage. While we aspire to produce all Bruntwood Prize winning scripts, we do not based the Prize decision making on a script’s suitability for the Royal Exchange Theatre. It our intention that winning the Prize is the start of a long term professional development, not the end of a process.

The competition rules state that plays must be of an hour or more in playing time. No exact measure can be made of the length of a piece of writing for theatre, but it can be useful to consider an evenly covered A4 page as just over a minute’s worth of stage time. However if your script has passages of very dense dialogue, movement, or video or music then a play of an hour or more might run to less than 60 pages.

The best way to judge this is to read your script out loud

There is no upper limit to the length of your script.

The aim of The Bruntwood Prize is to find an original piece of work for the stage. This means that the piece cannot be based wholly or largely on an existing piece of fiction or non-fiction writing. Any play that provides a close re-telling of an existing story or another writer’s work is not eligible. The only exception to this rule is if you are adapting your own work for the stage (as you maintain ownership)

Biographical work and plays with a strong factual or historical content are eligible for the competition. Scripts that take inspiration from or share links to existing stories are also not excluded from entry- we do not exclude plays that take inspiration from or make reference to existing stories, myth or fiction.

For more info- check out a blog on layout with some examples of different Bruntwood Prize winning scripts from 2019 

Suggested Layout Guidelines

You can find all our Frequently Asked questions here: https://www.writeaplay.co.uk/how-do-i-enter/#section-faqs

You can also email the Bruntwood Prize Co-ordinator at bruntwood.prize@royalexchange.co.uk. All answers within 24 hours (within office hours) or sooner