Manchester Royal Exchange announces Bruntwood shortlist

Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre has announced the 15 plays shortlisted for this year’s prestigious Bruntwood Playwriting Prize - financially Europe’s biggest prize competition for new plays.

This year the prize celebrates 20 years of the partnership between commercial property developer Bruntwood, the theatre and the Oglesby Charitable Trust.

The plays have been picked from the 100-work longlist to be considered across four categories: 10 from the UK are in the running for two categories, overall winner of the Bruntwood Prize and £20,000, or 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, and five further plays are eligible for the International award, submitted through partners in Australia, Canada and the US.

All winners engage with the theatre to explore ways to bring their work to production (though production isn't guaranteed), with the winner of the North West Original New Voice award and Residency also having access to a £10,000 sponsors' fund dedicated to their professional development at the theatres.

This year's shortlist takes us from a farm in rural Sussex to the chaotic offices of a gaming studio, by way of visions of 1940s Harlem and the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

Four of the submissions are from first-time playwrights: Tolu Okanlawon,, Yasmine Dankwah, Daniel Grimston and journalist Daisy Miles.

Shortlisted playwrights also carry the experience of writing hit TV shows or developing shows for the stage. Founding member of theatre company RashDash, Abbi Greenland, sees her play shortlisted, as does Ava Wong Davies, a consulting producer from season three of the BBC and HBO production Industry. Author Courttia Newland wrote on Steve McQueen's five-part anthology series Small Axe (BBC), while Mary Elizabeth Hamilton, who was a story editor on Why Women Kill (CBS Studios), is up for the International award.

Four playwrights in contention for the international award teach on some of the leading playwriting programmes at universities, including New York-based writer and theatre artist T Adamson, Julia Jarcho and Seayoung Yim, the last two both lecturers at Brown University. Silva Semerciyan, a lecturer at Bath Spa University, is shortlisted for the second time this year, after previously being shortlisted in 2011.

Two others, Terri Jade Donovan and Daisy Miles, have both trained in the Royal Exchange’s young company of writers, and are both in the running for this year’s new North West Original New Voice award.

The Judges, led by TV broadcaster Naga Munchetty, will announce the winner of the 2025 prize at an ceremony at the Royal Exchange Theatre on July 21. For the first time the ceremony will be open to the public, with a selection of tickets now on sale.

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The shortlisted scripts are:

The Annunciation, by T. Adamson - Gabi returns home to care for her dying grandmother María, a schizophrenic woman who believes she is the Virgin Mary. As María experiences visions of angels and demons from her hospital bed, Gabi must navigate the complexity of her maternal relationships.

Dream Body, by Natasha Collie - While everyone around her seems to have forgotten the pandemic, Anna has had to move in with her dad and join an online support group prescribed by her work. The show is a sharp and introspective exploration of mental health and the ‘"return to normal".

rite to party, by Yasmine Dankwah - Afia and Jama reconnect in London on their shared 18th birthday, and spend the night in the the city, reflecting on their experiences growing up.

Dog Dog Dog, by Terri Jade Donovan - A young Mancunian girl is starting to think she might be a dog. She's rapidly retreating into a canine fantasy world alongside her pet dog, Pup. A pulsating and unpredictable journey into the complexity of childhood trauma and neglect.

Talking to Boys, by Abbi Greenland - Georgia’s mind is starting to feel foggy. A lifetime of navigating complex encounters with the men around her has left her lost and searching. A study of how caring about and living with men can distort women’s lives.

Corpselight, by Daniel Grimston - A ghost stalks the landscape of a crumbling farm in Sussex: two families are bound by the land they’ve nurtured and the secrets they’ve buried. A haunting and vivid exploration of queerness, memory and inheritance.

The Plan, by Mary Elizabeth Hamilton - Julia has a plan that she is desperate to make happen: she’s going to leave her dead-end life behind and move to New York City with her boyfriend Billy - but Billy won’t leave his brother.

Coziness, by Julia Jarcho - Parents in a small New England city grow concerned after their children’s schoolteacher is violently murdered – conversations devolve from gossip into chaos.

R Lady’s, by Daisy Miles - At Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School in Stockport, three girls start reenacting scenes from the Crucifixion, but what starts out as harmless fun soon descends into cruel acts of violence.

Trim Palace, by Courttia Newland - It’s a big day for Trim; he’s meeting his 15-year-old daughter for the first time. He just needs to make sure his West London barbershop runs smoothly, and keep an eye on the protests growing outside...

Shooters, by Tolu Okanlawon - In 1940s Harlem, African-American photojournalist Gordon Parks attempts to document the lives of a gang of teenage boys for Life Magazine. An exploration of authenticity, masculinity and journalism as a mediator of reality.

Przewalski’s Horses, by Silva Semerciyan - Alina has fled Kyiv and sought refuge with her estranged grandmother in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. But tensions rise with the unexpected arrival of a young man and a suspicious soldier.

Spread, by Jesus I Valles - At an Austin high school, four teenage boys gather at lunchtime to make a spread from their junk food snacks. They tease and talk big, but under the surface lies deep insecurity and quietly pressing emotional needs.

Voyagers, by Ava Wong Davies - The team at an independent video game studio in South London is entering the crunch period for its new sci-fi game, Voyagers, but ambition, ego and burnout are threatening the entire project.

golf girl, by Seayoung Yim - Golf Girl is a rising star retracing the path of legendary golfer Pak Se-Ri’s historic 1998 US Women’s Open win; she and her dedicated father have toiled their whole lives for this moment, but who wants it most?