Finalist Films
Top stars support the 2020 Platform Presents Playwright’s Prize.
Aimee Lou Wood, Dianna Agron, George MacKay, Kyle Soller, Phoebe Fox, Pippa Bennett-Warner and Aki Omoshaybi have self-filmed video excerpts from the finalist plays in isolation during Lockdown, produced by Platform Presents.
In addition to the 5 films below, there are four more plays in consideration:
‘Bird in a Ribcage’ by Lizzie Stern
‘Everything Beautiful Happens At Night’ by Ted Malawer
‘Fuckboys’ by Katie Burnett
‘Private’ by Mona Pirnot
The judges for the 2020 Prize are: Amy Gardner (Producer), Charlie Wood (Producer, Underbelly), Dianna Agron (Actor & Producer), Francesca Gardiner (Producer & Screenwriter), Gala Gordon (Co-Founder, Platform Presents), Isabella Macpherson (Co-Founder, Platform Presents), Iwan Rheon (Actor), Ness Evans (Agent), Nicholas Pinnock (Actor & Poet), Rachel De-Lahay (Playwright & Screenwriter), Sam Yates (Director) and Tuppence Middleton (Actor & Writer).
The winner of the 2020 Playwright’s Prize is Anoushka Warden with her script 'My Dad's A C*nt.'
About The 2020 Playwright's Prize
We founded our production company to give a platform to rising star talent, with a particular interest in female voices. Funds for the Playwright’s Prize were raised at our annual Poetry Gala in February, to celebrate and highlight great writing, through the inspiring medium of poetry, brought to life by stars of the stage and screen.
For the 2020 Prize, over 200 plays were submitted from writers based from London to New York, LA to Melbourne. These were shortlisted to 9 by co-founders Gala Gordon and Isabella Macpherson alongside script readers.
The prize includes ongoing mentoring as well as the £5,000 cash prize.
Winner of the 2019 Playwright’s Prize was first time playwright Leah Gasson. Platform Presents produced a play reading of the play, ‘That Awful Sound,’ funded by the Ambassador Theatre Group and performed by Jessie Buckley, Aimee Lou Wood, Erin Doherty, Luke Treadaway, Haydn Gwynne, Karl Queensborough and Pearce Quigley. The script is now in development both for stage and screen as a feature film. She said: “Winning the prize was a life changing moment. It wasn’t just a title – it was an absolute sisterhood. Gala and Bella have been full of knowledge and encouragement, sharing their ideas and experiences and working tirelessly to push me into the light. I now have an amazing agent, a great pool of wise and wonderful fellow writers to learn from and have had meetings with production companies beyond my wildest dream.”