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 play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just
Readin ...
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, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...
, 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, 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.
History
The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...
, London
*
Liverpool Everyman
*
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 actre ...
*
Nottingham Playhouse
*
Nuffield Theatre, Southampton
*
Paines Plough, 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 West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
, London
*Sgript Cymru, Cardiff
*
Soho Theatre, London
*
Tamasha Theatre Company, London
*
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
References
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