The shortlist for the first ever Leodis Prize has been unveiled, celebrating ten new plays from writers without previous professional production, publication or representation.
Launched in 2025, the prize aims to champion unrepresented playwrights and open pathways into the industry. Nearly 350 submissions were received from across the UK and beyond, with a panel of 30 readers selecting the final ten.
The winner will receive a fully funded production at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2026, representation by Leodis, publication by Methuen Drama and a £2,000 cash prize. The winning play will be announced in April 2026.
The shortlisted plays span a wide range of voices and forms. One Hundred Fires by Damien Hasson follows a man who, unable to say his own name during a comedy gig, spirals into an existential exploration of identity. Tom Draper’s Lad Lad Lad is a satirical comedy in which three young men reunite in a pub, unearthing old tensions and a missing friend.
Needs Network Narrative by Anna Wright shifts between a surreal medieval quest and modern suburbia to interrogate loneliness, storytelling and radicalisation. In Strings by Nia Braidford, a young tennis prodigy confronts the pressures and power dynamics of elite sport. Before I Was A Moth by Mary Condon O’Connor is a sharply observed Irish comedy about grief, care and intergenerational relationships.
Andy Craven Griffiths’ Joygernaut examines ego and isolation in the aftermath of lockdown through an online therapy group. Sanctuary by Jacob Sparrow is a reflective drama exploring memory, community and belonging.
Rounding out the list are Sawdust by Joseph Walsh, an ensemble piece set behind the scenes of a TV talk show, Sicko by Ed Cooke, which blends immersive performance with domestic narrative, and The Definition by Nay Oliver Murphy, a two-hander exploring intimacy and compulsion.
Judges for the prize include Tamzin Outhwaite, Jenna Fincken, Sam Yates, Lucy Casson, Sian Carter, Anthony Alderson and Daniel Hinchliffe.
Daniel Hinchliffe, Managing Director of Leodis Talent and founder of the award, said, “We have been overwhelmed by the quality of writing and the amount of unrecognised talent. It was not an easy task choosing the shortlist, and many hours were spent reading and deliberating. I am so grateful to the writers who entered their plays and to the readers who read them. We now have to choose a winner from the extraordinary final 10!”
The prize reaffirms the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a vital platform for new talent and innovative theatre-making.
More information can be found here.
