The 2022 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting winning play is at Roundabout Edinburgh this summer until 27 August.

WHATSONSTAGE ★★★★★ An evening of utter, exhilarating joy, bolstered by extraordinarily specific observations and properly experienced feeling. Beautifully directed by Dermot Daly, with sensitivity to all its changes in pace and mood, it creates a complete world. It has a sense of being a play entirely confident in its sense of itself and unencumbered by anyone else’s ideas of what it ought to be. It sends you out into the night touched by its emotional justness, surprised by where it ends up and happy to have been on the journey it offers.

Lost in Theatre ★★★★★ From the very start until the very end, this show is hilarious, with hysterically funny, witty lines filling the script. Queely-Dennis is an astoundingly talented performer

An Evening Standard Top 20 Edinburgh Festival 2023- best theatre and comedy. Yes there’s the fantastic title, but there’s also the fact that this play by Nathaniel Queeley-Dennis won the Bruntwood Prize, the biggest playwriting prize in the country. It’s about what it means to be young, black, male, Brummie – and it promises lots of Beyonce too.

FESTIVAL MAG ★★★★★ Rich, intelligent look at Black masculinity that is an utter delight

The TIMES ★★★★ Queeley-Dennis captures the unpredictable rhythms of the cycle of life.

The STAGE ★★★★ A blissfully funny one-man romantic odyssey set in Birmingham.

TIME OUT ★★★★ Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz’ is A blast, and marks the announcement of a serious new talent, or rather two: Nathan Queeley-Dennis the playwright, and Nathan Queeley-Dennis the actor.

Edinburgh Review ★★★★ Charming, funny and superbly acted, Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz handles themes of race, modern masculinity, and modern dating with joy and ease. All of this makes it a fantastic, fun night out – whether it’s a date night or not.

The Scotsman ★★★★ Bullring Techno is a rarely staged depiction of heart-on-sleeve masculinity

The Guardian ★★★ Reflecting on feelings, dating and brotherly love, Nathan Queeley-Dennis’s first drama is fun and frothy. A charming debut play.

Lyn Gardner– Queeley-Dennis also performs this enormously engaging monologue and does it with such heart that you want to get out of your seat and give the character a hug.

Trim? Fresh.
Skin? Glowing.
Vibes? Immaculate.

Nathaniel is a serious romantic who sees love as a fine art. He’s looking for the Mona Lisa to his da Vinci, and tonight is the night: his date with Destiny…’s Child.

Winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2022, Nathan Queeley-Dennis’ debut play is a love letter to Birmingham, exploring Black masculinity through Beyonce lyrics, techno raves and the deeply intimate relationship between a man and his barber.

The world premiere production is presented at Roundabout by Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough, in association with Royal Exchange Theatre. Directed by Bruntwood Prize Award ceremony 2022 co-director Dermot Daly, Queeley-Dennis makes his return to Roundabout after performing in the Roundabout 2021 season (Black Love, Really Big and Really Loud).

Tickets for Roundabout @ Summerhall are now on sale at https://bit.ly/rbt-summerhall-23 

Paines Plough, Soho Theatre and Belgrade Theatre will also present the acidically witty STRATEGIC LOVE PLAY, a world premiere from Bruntwood Prize shortlisted writer Miriam Battye (little scratch, Scenes With Girls) interrogating modern dating and what we really talk about when we talk about love. It will be directed by Paines Plough Co-Artistic Director Katie Posner (You Bury Me, Hungry). Miriam was the first writer in residence at Sister Pictures and has written widely for TV, most recently as a Story Editor on the latest season of HBO’s wildly popular Succession. She has been shortlisted for both Paines Plough’s Women’s Prize and the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting and is the 2020 recipient of the Harold Pinter Commission. Strategic Love Play will preview at Belgrade Theatre in July before its run at Roundabout @ Summerhall.

We’re also delighted to announce that the 2019 Bruntwood Prize shortlisted play SALTY IRINA by Eve Leigh as part of the visiting artists presenting work at Paines Plough.  Tickets now on sale https://festival23.summerhall.co.uk/events/salty-irina/