U.K. playwright and Olivier Award-winning book writer Chris Bush has been named the fourth recipient of the Hermitage Major Theater Award. The award, offering one of the largest theatre commissions in the United States, was created in 2021 to recognize a playwright or theatre artist with a $35,000 commission to create an original, impactful piece of theatre.

Bush most recently won an Olivier Award for the book of new musical Standing at Sky's Edge. She has also been critically recognized for her production Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World and Assassination of Katie Hopkins.

Bush will receive the cash prize, as well as a residency at the Hermitage in Florida and an inaugural workshop of the newly created work.

“I’m delighted—and still a little surprised—to be the recipient of this year’s Hermitage Major Theater Award. Having spent a lot of my career writing specifically about northern England, I’m excited to shift my gaze across the Atlantic and dive into a new landscape. I’m very grateful to the Hermitage and Flora Major for this opportunity. I hear the weather in Florida is a little better too," said Bush in a statement.

Past recipients of the Hermitage Major Theater Award have included Imani Uzuri, Shariffa Ali, and Madeleine George. The Hermitage Artist Retreat also annually awards the jury-selected Hermitage Greenfield Prize, a $30,000 commission that rotates each year between the disciplines of music, theatre, and visual art. Past recipients in theatre have included Aleshea Harris (2021), Martyna Majok (2018), Nilo Cruz (2015), John Guare (2012), and Craig Lucas (2009).

Visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.