Intelligence by Sarah Grochala is today announced as the winning script for The Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2023. Launched in 2019 and produced by Ellie Keel and Paines Plough, the Prize is the only national prize to champion and support exceptional playwrights who identify as female or non-binary. The winning play was announced at an awards ceremony held at the iconic London Library in front of an audience of invited guests and leading lights within the UK theatre industry.
This year’s competition opened on 16 January 2023 and received over 1000 entries which were judged by the newly appointed Director of the National Theatre Indhu Rubasingham (Chair); journalist Samira Ahmed; playwrights April de Angelis and Chris Bush; actor Noma Dumezweni; literary agent Mel Kenyon; journalist and critic Anya Ryan; Head of Play Development at the National Theatre, Nina Steiger; and Guardian Editor-in-Chief Katharine Viner.
The Prize is for a full-length play (defined as over 60 minutes in length), written in English and the winning playwright wins £12,000 in respect of an option for Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough to co-produce the winning play. The Prize is sponsored by Samuel French Ltd, a Concord Theatricals company, who are the official publishing partner of the prize, and by commercial theatre producers Fiery Angel. The Founding Sponsor is the leading recruitment agency, PER.
Ellie Keel, Founder Director of The Women’s Prize for Playwriting, today said, “Sarah Grochala’s Intelligence is one of the plays I’ve been dreaming of finding since the idea for this prize first came to me. It is powerful, original, expansive, ambitious – all the things that audiences hope for and deserve when they book to see a new play. Sarah’s writing is witty and luminescent, vividly bringing to life her detailed research into the story of a fascinating and overlooked scientist and computing pioneer, Ada Lovelace, whose struggle to be recognised and fulfil her full potential sadly is, or has been, shared by so many women throughout history.
“It feels particularly poignant for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting to be awarding the prize to Intelligence in the building next door to Ada’s London home for many years, 12 St James’s Square. Thank you to all of the judges, readers, partners, sponsors and supporters who make this prize possible, and particularly to our Chair of Judges, Indhu Rubasingham, whose contribution to the Women’s Prize for Playwriting in our first three years has been immeasurably valuable.”
Katie Posner, Charlotte Bennett and Debo Adebayo, Joint Artistic Directors and Deputy Artistic Director of Paines Plough, added, “We are thrilled to be celebrating the finalists and the winner for the third year of this incredible prize, which not only champions outstanding talent, but continues to actively diversify our national theatrical landscape. We feel so lucky to have read these plays, and to consistently be bowled over by the talent, uniqueness and imagination of so many writers. At Paines Plough, we are so proud of these finalists, and thrilled to celebrate Intelligence by Sarah Grochala as this year’s winner. It blew us away with its boldness of storytelling and ambitious structure, which sees a central character cross centuries and discover what continues to inhibit female success. Sarah is an outstanding writer, and we are looking forward to working with her to produce and platform this play.”
INTELLIGENCE
By Sarah Grochala
When a Victorian female computing pioneer tries to make a career for herself as a serious scientist, her path is blocked by men in every direction.
She gets the chance to try again – in different times and places – but realises that there’s more at stake than her own thirst for fame…
London. 1840s. Ada Lovelace (inventor of computer software and AI pioneer) is determined to forge a career for herself as a serious scientist, but finds every path blocked by men. Even when they work with her, they’re against her. Ridiculed and desperate, she dies with all her ambitions unfulfilled. But this, it turns out, is only one of many ends. In an unexpected twist of fate, she finds herself repeatedly reincarnated and gets the chance to try for fame again, first as Grace Hopper (creator of COBOL) in 1940s America, and then as Steve Jobs in 1980s Silicon Valley. Eventually, confronted with the destruction of all her work by a shady tech billionaire, she realises that it’s the very nature of intelligence (artificial or not) that she should be fighting for.
Sarah Grochala is a neurodiverse Anglo-Polish playwright who writes female-led dramas exploring the darker aspects of life with humour and heart. She’s best-known for her Amnesty award-winning play S-27, but also writes audio episodes of Doctor Who, specialising in stories featuring alien invasions in historical settings, and robots – sometimes both.
In the inaugural year of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, two First Prizes of £12,000 were awarded to Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me by Amy Trigg, and to You Bury Me by Ahlam. Consumed by Karis Kelly was the 2021 winning script, and the play is currently in development, with further details to be announced.
www.womensprizeforplaywriting.co.uk
@WomensPlayPrize
@womensprize_forplaywriting
THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR PLAYWRITING
Founded in 2019 by Ellie Keel and Paines Plough, the Women’s Prize for Playwriting has a simple mission statement: to campaign for equality in the number of male and female writers whose plays are produced on national stages in the UK and Ireland. In 2018, only 26% of new plays on main stages in Britain were by women. In 2022, still only 30% of main stage productions in the UK had a credited female writer – including librettists and adapters.
The Prize’s core activity is:
- Running an open call-out for plays by women and non-binary people.
- Selecting the winning script(s) with the help of an experienced reading team and a prestigious judging panel of industry leaders.
- Producing the winning plays on national stages.
- Leading development work on the winning plays and selected scripts on the shortlist.
2020 Winners: Amy Trigg for Reasons You Shouldn’t Love Me and Ahlam for You Bury Me
2021 Winner: Karis Kelly for Consumed
Founder Director: Ellie Keel
Founding Partner: Paines Plough
Literary Associate: Tommo Fowler
Communications Assistant: Natasha Ketel
www.womensprizeforplaywriting.co.uk
X: @WomensPlayPrize
Instagram: @womensprize_forplaywriting
EKP (Ellie Keel Productions)
Ellie Keel Productions’ recent work includes the critically acclaimed, award-winning shows BULLRING TECHNO MAKEOUT JAMZ by Nathan Queeley-Dennis (Roundabout and Royal Court Theatre, 2023), AN INTERROGATION by Jamie Armitage (Summerhall, 2023), THE LAST SHOW BEFORE WE DIE by Mary Higgins and Ell Potter (Roundabout, 2023), YOU BURY ME by Ahlam (Bristol Old Vic, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, and Orange Tree Theatre, London, 2023), and SAP by Rafaella Marcus (Roundabout, 2022, then Soho Theatre and national tour, 2023). EKP’s prestigious slate of new plays also includes REASONS YOU SHOULD(N’T) LOVE ME by Amy Trigg (Kiln Theatre, 2021, and national tour, 2022), COLLAPSIBLE by Margaret Perry (HighTide Festival at Assembly, then Abbey Theatre Dublin, 2019, and Bush Theatre, 2020), HOTTER by Mary Higgins and Ell Potter (Underbelly, 2019, then Soho Theatre and tour), STILL NO IDEA by Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence (Traverse Theatre, Southbank Centre and tour, 2019), and FITTER by Mary Higgins and Ell Potter (Soho Theatre, 2019-20).
www.elliekeelproductions.co.uk
@EKPshows
@ellie_keel_productions
PAINES PLOUGH
Paines Plough is a touring theatre company dedicated entirely to developing and producing exceptional new writing, led by Artistic Directors Charlotte Bennett and Katie Posner. The work we create connects with artists and communities across the UK.
Since 1974 Paines Plough has produced more than 200 new productions by world renowned playwrights including Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, Dennis Kelly, Mike Bartlett, Kae Tempest and Vinay Patel and we tour our plays to over 40 places each year. We reach over 30,000 people annually from Cornwall to the Orkney Islands, in village halls, off Broadway and in our own pop-up theatre Roundabout.
Website: www.painesplough.com
Instagram and Twitter: @PainesPlough
Facebook: /painesploughHQ
Youtube: www.youtube.com/painesplough
CONCORD THEATRICALS
Concord Theatricals provides the UK arts sector with theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording and first-class production. The UK home of Rodgers & Hammerstein Theatricals, Samuel French Ltd and Tams-Witmark, its unparalleled roster includes the work of Irving Berlin, Agatha Christie, George & Ira Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, Lorraine Hansberry, Kander & Ebb, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Harold Pinter, Cole Porter, Terrence Rattigan, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thornton Wilder and August Wilson.
@ConcordUKShows
FIERY ANGEL
Headed by Edward Snape and Marilyn Eardley Fiery Angel is an award-winning international production company based in London’s West End. Recent productions include: King Lear (West End), Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder! (UK tour), And Then There Were None (UK and Ireland tour), Unexpected Twist (UK tour), Animal Farm (UK Tour), The Good Life (UK tour), Hairspray (West End), Touching the Void (West End), The Son (West End), The Night of the Iguana (West End), Fleabag (West End), Home, I’m Darling (West End and UK Tour), Long Day’s Journey into Night (West End, New York and Los Angeles), Mary Stuart (West End and UK tour), Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (West End), Love From A Stranger (UK tour), Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company; The Winter’s Tale, All On Her Own/Harlequinade, Red Velvet, The Painkiller, Romeo and Juliet, The Entertainer (West End), Ben Hur (Tricycle Theatre), The 39 Steps (9 years in the West End, 3 UK Tours, 3 years on Broadway and presented in over 40 territories worldwide including Olivier, Tony and Moliere award wins), To Kill a Mockingbird(Barbican Theatre and UK tour), The Scottsboro Boys(West End), The Ladykillers (West End and UK tour), Ghost Stories (West End), Dial M for Murder (UK tour). Fiery Angel has acted as a co-producer alongside The National Theatre on its West End productions of Nine Night, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and The Lehman Trilogy.
As part of Fiery Angel Entertainment: Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol (Queen Elizabeth Hall), Tubular Bells (Royal Festival Hall), Rob Brydon (UK tour), Circus 1903 (Royal Festival Hall, Eventim Apollo), Guys and Dolls (Royal Albert Hall), Barry Humphries’ Weimar Cabaret (Barbican Theatre) and Our Finest Hour (UK tour).
As part of The Children’s Theatre Partnership: The Boy at the Back of the Class (UK tour), Unexpected Twist (UK tour), Animal Farm (UK tour), Holes (UK tour), The Jungle Book (UK tour), Running Wild (UK tour), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (UK tour), Goodnight Mister Tom (West End and 3 UK tours, Olivier Award winner) and Swallows and Amazons (West End and UK tour).
As part of Fierylight Productions: Smartest Giant in Town (UK tour and West End), Peppa Pig Live! (West End, UK Tour, US Tour and Australian tour), Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom (UK tour) and Octonauts & The Deep SeaVolcano Adventure (UK tour and US tour).
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