Writing contest attracts entries

Press, 7 October 1987, Page 23

Writing contest attracts entries

A $116,000 international playwriting competition organised by Mobil in Britain is attracting interest from New Zealand playwrights. The second Mobil Playwriting Competition was launched in England earlier this year and entry forms will be available in, New Zealand shortly. The competition was

first held in 1984/85 and attracted 2000 entries from 14 countries. The competition is open to entries from anywhere in the world but they must be original, full-length plays written in English, and not previously produced or offered for production in any medium. The closing date is January 16, 1988 and the results will be announced in April next year.

The winner will receive $35,200 ( £10,000), with second and third prizes worth $17,600 ( £5000) and $10,600 ( £3000). Two other prizes of $10,600 ( £3000) each, the international prize for the best play by a foreign writer and the Michael Elliot Prize for the best play by a writer resident in the north-west of England, will be awarded.

The judging panel will

be chaired by the playwright Ronald Harwood. Other members are playwright Michael Frayn, broadcaster Joan Bakewell, London producer Josephine - Harte and the actors James Maxwell and lan McDiarmid, both directors of the Royal Exchange Theatre.

Mobil will fund a bursary of $28,160 ( £8000)

to provide a writer-in-residence for one year at the Royal Exchange Theatre. The Mobil bursary may be awarded to one of the winners or to any entrant to the competition.

The winning play, or plays, will be performed by the Royal Exchange Theatre Company and published by Oberon Books.