ARTS
BECOME A
PLAYWRIGHT
Outside Edge Theatre Company invite
you to enter an exciting competition with
a life-changing prize
O
utside Edge Theatre
Company (OETC)
is the UK’s only
theatre company
and participatory
arts charity focused on addiction.
We’re inviting people in recovery
to submit plays for the inaugural
Phil Fox Award for Playwriting and
the winner of the competition will
receive a £6,000 commission and
mentoring from playwright Enda
Walsh.
This award, named after OETC’s
founder, invites playwrights with
any level of experience from across
the UK to submit full-length scripts
about issues related to addiction.
The prize of a £6,000 commission
from OETC will enable the winner
to continue developing the winning
script or to develop a new one about
issues related to addiction. They will
also receive mentoring from multi-
award winning playwright Enda
Walsh, who chairs the competition’s
judging panel.
This year’s competition is
open for entries until 16 June
with a winner announced in early
November. Submitted full-length
plays from UK residents must be
original, unproduced and about
issues related to addiction. Writers
with lived experience of addiction
WWW.DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS.COM
or affected by addiction are strongly
encouraged to apply, although this
is not a requirement for eligibility.
Playwrights will need to clearly
articulate how their scripts relate to
these issues, which are not limited to
substance or alcohol misuse, but also
include subject matter involving non-
chemical addictions, such as social
media or sex addiction. Plays may
also explore the social or structural
determinants that contribute to
addiction, such as access to services
or the supply chain of an addictive
product. The characters do not
themselves need to be addicted
– for example, plays about people
directly affected by another person’s
addiction, such as family members,
will also be accepted.
‘The launch of the inaugural
Phil Fox Award for Playwriting is
an exciting change of direction for
Outside Edge Theatre Company,’
says OETC artistic director, Matt
Steinberg. ‘This investment in
developing new writing and finding
stories not often represented on our
country’s stages builds upon our
reputation as an innovative theatre
maker producing hard-hitting and
controversial plays.
‘To be joined on this new
adventure by such an extraordinary
panel of judges feels like a fitting
tribute to the legacy of our
founding artistic director, whom
the award is named after. We hope
this accessible commissioning
opportunity encourages established
and first-time playwrights to think
imaginatively about issues related
to addiction. I can’t wait to read
what they come up with!’
Alongside Enda Walsh, judges
for this year’s award include Simon
Stephens (Tony and Olivier Award-
winning playwright), Barbara
Broccoli OBE (James Bond films and
West End and Broadway theatre
producer), Indhu Rubasingham
(artistic director of the Kiln Theatre),
Denise Gough (Olivier Award-
winning actress), Matt Applewhite
(Nick Hern Books managing director
and commissioning editor), Sonya
Top: Phil Fox, founder of OETC.
Above: Check-In Check-Out,
one of the OETC workshop
performance groups.
Credit: Ali Wright and Darren Bell
Hale (OETC associate theatre
facilitator and Synergy Theatre
Project and Heretic Voices award-
winning playwright) and Matt
Steinberg (OETC artistic director).
‘We’ve assembled a fantastic
judging panel who share my
admiration and respect for Outside
Edge Theatre Company,’ says Enda
Walsh. ‘We are all very much looking
forward to receiving these plays. To
those writers – get writing, be brave
with your submissions, and the very
best of luck with the work.’
More information on the 2020 Phil Fox Award for Playwriting,
including how to apply and eligibility criteria can be found on
OETC’s website, www.edgetc.org/phil-fox-award
The Phil Fox Award for Playwriting is generously supported by
an anonymous friend of Outside Edge Theatre Company, The
Carne Trust and Unity Theatre Trust.
Outside Edge Theatre Company
will be performing at the DDN
Conference later this year – look out
for our rescheduled date.
APRIL 2020 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 17