Anna is thrilled to have won The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2013 with her play YEN.
Anna with judges Dame Jenni Murray and Michael Oglesby OBE
YEN was picked out of 1792 plays entered into the bi-annual competition, the biggest in the country. Judges include David Eldridge, Benedict Nightingale, Marianne Elliot, Greg Hersov, Sarah Frankom, Dame Jenni Murray, Michael Oglesby OBE, Tanika Gupta and Suranne Jones.
Dame Jenni Murray commented: ‘It’s been an extraordinary shortlist this year and very difficult to decide on a winner. Yen is a play of great depth and relevance. In an incredibly dark world each of the characters are drawn with beautiful empathy, and a humanity which stood out to all the judges.’
Also Marianne Elliot said about YEN “It really gets under your skin. It’s incredibly vivid and really upsetting, but in a brilliant way. You get to know and feel for these characters but you’re also aware of the statement this writer is making about the state of the nation.” Watch the award ceremony highlights here.
Anna is delighted to have won this prestigious award. The prize is £16,000, a year long attachment at The Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre and a full production of YEN there.
Anna speaking about YEN
A further three Judges’ Awards were awarded to Bird by Katherine Chandler, Rolling Stone by Chris Urch and So Here We Are by Luke Norris, who each receive £8,000.
Read more about it here.