Celebrating 20 years of partnership: The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting

2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, a partnership founded, by Michael Oglesby (Bruntwood’s Founder), Jean Oglesby and Sarah Frankcom (previously artistic director of the Royal Exchange), from a shared belief in the importance of discovering new stories, supporting playwrights and championing world-class artistry in Manchester and beyond.

At the heart of the Prize is the principle that anyone, from any background or level of experience, can enter – as it’s completely anonymous, scripts are judged based on the work alone, with no knowledge of the identity of the playwright.

To mark the 20th anniversary in 2025, we asked local artist (and legend) Stanley Chow to design a special logo, which will be seen from trams to pavements across Manchester on the day of the ceremony. The judging panel for the year includes Creative Director of the Royal Exchange Theatre, Selina Cartmell; previous Bruntwood Prize winner, Phoebe Eclair-Powell; award-winning playwright and director, Conor McPherson; international award-winning director and Artistic Director of London’s Kiln Theatre Amit Sharma; actors, Shobna Gulati and Cherylee Houston, and Munya Chawawa, a BAFTA-nominated broadcaster, writer and comedian. Renowned journalist and broadcaster Naga Munchetty is Chair of the judging panel.

Since the inception of the Bruntwood Prize, we’ve received over 15,000 scripts, celebrated 37 winners, and seen 27 productions staged in venues across the UK. The Prize is now recognised as a launch-pad for some of the UK’s most respected and celebrated play and screen writers including Anna Jordan (One Day), Duncan Macmillan (People, Places & Things), Janice Okoh (Sanditon) and Alistair McDowall (Pomona), with nominees and winners going on to win BAFTAs, Emmys, Oliviers and a range of other awards.

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is one of our longest standing partnerships. When you think of Bruntwood, the first thing you think of probably isn’t playwriting, and while our core business focuses on the property industry, we’re also committed to investing in arts and culture within our cities. That’s why, for the past 20 years, we’ve been growing the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting as we hope to help make our great communities greater.

For Bruntwood, cultural vibrancy is a key element in building thriving communities for the long term, and we see our partnerships as central to realising that. To do so, the partnerships themselves should be more than straightforward corporate sponsorship arrangements, and instead be real-life, meaningful relationships that grow, develop and embed over time. The Bruntwood Prize has become a shining example of that approach in action. The longevity and scale of the competition really demonstrates the importance of corporate and philanthropic engagement with the Arts. At a time when an increasing number of external factors threaten to jeopardise the creative sector, this importance is enhanced. 

The Oglesby Charitable Trust has also been supporting the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting competition for over 10 years, contributing to support for the writers themselves, the coordination of the competition, the production of plays, wellbeing support for play audiences, and always, amplifying connections between the competition and community, in its broadest sense.

The Prize attracts entries from across the country and around the world and, by anonymising the judging process, ensures that the plays are assessed on their own merits. It’s this national and global profile that continues to draw in entries from writers of all backgrounds, and amplify their voices on an international scale. So, while the Prize has its home in Manchester, its impact and reach are much wider.

This year, 15 plays have been shortlisted from over 2,100 entries to be considered across four categories. 10 plays from the UK are in the running for two categories: overall winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, who takes home £20,000, as well as the Judges Award worth £10,000. Two of those plays are in the running for the North-West Original New Voice Award which includes a funded year-long residency at the Royal Exchange Theatre, in recognition of the Prize’s Manchester home. In addition, five further plays are eligible for the International Award, who have applied through partners in Australia, Canada and the US. 

You can read about the full shortlist, the wild and wondrous ideas and characters they explore, and the people behind the writing in this press release.