Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting retains Riot for a second cycle

We are delighted to be partnering, once again, with one of the UK’s leading property companies Bruntwood and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, on the next Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting. Following a successful first year, in which we helped the Prize achieve a 115% uplift in entrants (the highest number of entrants overall in the Prize’s history including increases in traditionally underrepresented demographics), we have been retained to work on the 2022 Prize cycle.

Riot co-Founder and MD Preena Gadher said: “The pandemic devastated the theatre industry and so I am so pleased that Bruntwood is steadfast in its commitment to continuing to support playwriting, as the UK’s remaining theatres re-open and audiences begin to come back. As an agency specialising in culture PR, we implicitly understand the important role that the creative industries have in helping societies re-group and re-build after difficult times. The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is needed now, more than ever and we are honoured to continue supporting the Prize.”

Paula Rabbitt, Communications Manager at the Royal Exchange Theatre said: “The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is a celebration of imagination and to do such an incredible prize justice you need a brilliantly intuitive and creative team to work on it. Riot are absolutely that, and we are very excited to build on the brilliant achievements from the 2019 Prize for 2022. As we start working on the next prize cycle Riot are helping us to shape an innovative approach to our communications and we are really looking forward to exploring new paths and sharing the Prize with as many people as possible. The idea that stories can help us to understand our world is perhaps more important than ever and Riot are the perfect partners to help us bring our unique story to life.”

Kate Vokes, Chair of Trustees at the Oglesby Charitable Trust and Non-Executive Director at Bruntwood commented: “The return of the Bruntwood Prize signals a return of bustling cities, full of cultural vibrancy and a celebration of shared experiences. We’ve always recognised the significant role that the arts play in creating thriving cities – but nobody could be in any doubt after the last 18 months. As a long-standing champion of the arts, since arts and culture inject so much life into our cities, we recognise that places like Manchester are ecosystems and are committed to keeping this value alive. As we all support the business community to bounce back – let’s not forget the arts. Good luck to all those submitting.”