Writers from around the world are invited to submit their scripts as the 27th International Radio Playwriting Competition !
The global competition, hosted by BBC World Service and the British Council offers the unique opportunity for playwrights to use the medium of radio drama to reach an international audience.
This year the two first prizes can come from either the English as a First Language or the English as a Second Language category. Both winners will attend an award ceremony in London and see their plays recorded for broadcast on BBC World Service.
The last competition attracted entries from a record 112 countries, with Zimbabwe, USA, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, Malaysia, Egypt, Kosovo, Iceland and Russia being on the shortlist. To mark this year’s launch, A Broken Heart in a Warzone will be broadcast again on Saturday 26 October on BBC World Service and available online to listen and download.
Last year’s winner in the First Language category was By God’s Mercy by Colette Victor, a comedy drama set in an impoverished South African township in which Mercy’s new occupation is seen from the point of view of a mattress. In the Second Language category A Broken Heart in a Warzone by Yemeni writer Aziz H was a dark comedy about two audacious thieves who steal from houses when their owners flee to the air-raid shelters during the frequent bombings.
The International Playwriting Competition welcomes scripts from anyone outside the UK, whether established or new writers. The dramas need to be 53 minutes long and can be on any subject. The closing date for entries is midnight (GMT) on 31 January 2020. Further details on the competition, including Rules and how to enter, are online here.