Between 1965 and 2010, the John Whiting Award (from 2007 renamed the Peter Wolff Trust Supports the John Whiting Award) was awarded annually to a British or Commonwealth

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

who, in the opinion of a consortium of UK theatres, showed a new and distinctive development in dramatic writing with particular relevance to contemporary society. The award was established in 1965 to commemorate John Whiting and his distinctive contribution to post-war British theatre. Until 2006, the selection was made by the drama panel of

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

, and the play did not need to have been staged, which allowed plays produced on radio to be considered. From 2007, only plays which had been performed in the subsidised sector were eligible. The award was initially worth £1000, but grew to £6000 per year. From 2007, the award was supplied by the Peter Wolff Theatre Trust and was administered by a consortium of UK theatres which specialise in new writing. The theatres involved were: *

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a s ...

, London *Cleanbreak, London *

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

, London *

Liverpool Everyman The Everyman Theatre stands at the north end of Hope Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1964, in Hope Hall (once a chapel, then a cinema), in an area of Liverpool noted for its bohemian environment and political edge, ...

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actres ...

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and F ...

* Nuffield Theatre, Southampton *

Paines Plough Paines Plough is a touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams. The company specialises exclusively in commissioning and producing new plays and helping playwrights develop their craft. Over the past f ...

, London (touring) *

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

, London * Sgript Cymru, Cardiff *

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

, London * Tamasha Theatre Company, London *

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary p ...

, Edinburgh

External links

Arts Council EnglandPeter Wolff Theatre TrustBirmingham Repertory TheatreBush TheatreCleanbreakHampstead TheatreLiverpool Everyman & PlayhouseNottingham PlayhouseNuffield TheatrePaines PloughRoyal Court TheatreSgript CymruSoho TheatreTamasha Theatre CompanyTraverse TheatreThe Stage
* http://twp.posterous.com/shortlist-announced-peter-wolff-theatre-trust {{John Whiting Award British theatre awards British literary awards Dramatist and playwright awards Awards established in 1965 1965 establishments in the United Kingdom