Following the record number of 1,493 submissions to its Verity Bargate Award 2020, and a longlist of 20 playwrights, Soho Theatre today announces the 7 plays that have been shortlisted for the Award. The shortlisted plays, submitted back in early January, feature an eclectic mix of stories including a feminist ghost story, rich and evocative plays about identity, the NHS and education, a pressure-cooker drama set in a paranoid McCarthy-era America, and prescient dystopian dramas, which feel more relevant now than ever.
The winner will be announced in October, following deliberations by the judges, a panel of industry experts including former Soho writers Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Laura Wade, screenwriter Russell T Davies, and actress and playwright Lolita Chakrabarti. The award is sponsored by Character 7 and chaired by film and television producer, Character 7’s Stephen Garrett. The Award honours Verity Bargate, Soho’s co-founder who passionately championed new writing during her time at the small but hugely influential fringe theatre, Soho Poly.
On the Verity Bargate Award 2020 shortlist, Stephen Garrett said: ‘These shortlisted plays are spine-tingly zeitgeisty, a vivid reminder of what the world is missing with no live theatre, and what excitements await when it returns. These are voices crying out to be heard.’
Verity Bargate Award 2020 shortlist
Honey – Lucy Foster
Krill – Sorcha McCaffrey
RAD – FXXX BXXXXX
Retrograde – Ryan Calais Cameron
scum – Ava Wong Davies
Shedding A Skin – Amanda Wilkin
Super High Resolution – Nathan Ellis
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