The Meyer-Whitworth Award was a literary prize established in 1991 and awarded from 1992 until 2011 to new British playwrights to help them further their careers. The £10,000 prize, one of the largest annual prizes for play writing in the UK, was funded by the National Theatre Foundation and named in honour of Geoffrey Whitworth and Carl Meyer, both of whom were instrumental in the establishment of the Royal National Theatre. From its inception until 2006, the award was administered by Arts Council England. After that, it was administered by the Playwrights' Studio, Scotland. According to the Playwrights' Studio, the award was given to the writer whose play best embodied Whitworth's view that "drama is important in so far as it reveals the truth about the relationships of human beings with each other and the world at large", showed promise of a developing new talent, and whose writing displayed an individual quality. The first recipient of the Meyer-Whitworth Award was Roy MacGregor for his play ''Our Own Kind''.

List of winners

*1992: Roy MacGregor for ''Our Own Kind'' This list is sourced from Playwrights' Studio, Scotland (October 2011). *1993:

Philip Ridley Philip Ridley (born 1957 in East London) is an English storyteller working in a wide range of artistic media. As a visual artist he has been cited as a contemporary of the 'Young British Artists', and had his artwork exhibited internationally. ...

for '' The Fastest Clock in the Universe'' *1994: Diane Samuels for ''

Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...

'' *1995: Jointly to Terry Johnson for '' Hysteria'' and

Billy Roche Billy Roche (born 11 January 1949) is an Irish playwright and actor. He was born and still lives in Wexford and most of his writings are based there. Originally a singer with The Roach Band, he turned to writing in the 1980s. He has written a n ...

for ''The Cavalcaders'' *1996:

Michael Wynne Michael Walter Wynne (born September 4, 1944) is an American politician and business executive and was the 21st United States Secretary of the Air Force. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asked for and received his resignation (and that of Chief ...

for ''The Knocky'' *1997:

Conor McPherson Conor McPherson (born 6 August 1971) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. In recognition of his contribution to world theatre, McPherson was awarded a doctorate of Literature, Honoris Causa, in June 2013 by the Un ...

for ''

This Lime Tree Bower ''This Lime Tree Bower'' is an early play by Conor McPherson. The title is taken from the 1797 This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison, poem of the same name by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.McNulty, Charles"Review: ‘This Lime Tree Bower’"''Variety'', May 24 ...

'' *1998: Jointly to Moira Buffini for ''Gabriel'' and Daragh Carville for ''Language Roulette'' *1999:

David Harrower David Harrower (born 1966) is a Scottish playwright who (as of 2005) lives in Glasgow. Harrorwer has published over 10 original works, as well as numerous translations and adaptations. Career Harrower's first play, ''Knives in Hens'', which p ...

for ''Kill the Old Torture their Young'' *2000: Kate Dean for ''Down Red Lane'' *2001: Ray Grewal for ''My Dad’s Corner Shop'' *2002: Jointly to Gregory Burke for '' Gagarin Way'' and Henry Adam for ''Among Broken Hearts'' *2003: Gary Owen for ''Shadow of a Boy'' *2004:

Owen McCafferty Owen McCafferty (born 1961) is a playwright from Northern Ireland. Early life Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, McCafferty in 1961 he was brought up in London from the age of 1 until aged 10 when his parents returned to Belfast. He was educat ...

for ''Scenes from the Big Picture'' *2005: Stephen Thompson for ''Damages'' *2006:

Dennis Kelly Dennis Kelly is a British scriptwriter for theatre, television and film. His play ''DNA'', first performed in 2007, became a core set-text for GCSE in 2010 and has been studied by approximately 400,000 students each year. He wrote the book ...

for '' Osama the Hero'' *2007: Morna Pearson for ''Distracted'' *2008: Hassan Abdulrazzak for ''

Baghdad Wedding ''Baghdad Wedding'' is the first play by Hassan Abdulrazzak. It premiered at the Soho Theatre in London, England in 2007, and was directed by Lisa Goldman. The play touches on the experience of three Expat Iraqis who return to their country afte ...

'' *2009: Ali Taylor for ''Cotton Wool'' *2010: Natasha Langridge for ''Shraddha'' *2011: David Ireland for ''Everything Between Us''

References

Dramatist and playwright awards British literary awards Awards established in 1991 Awards disestablished in 2011 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom {{lit-award-stub